THREE
by Emi Hikari
Summary: Sora, Kairi, and Riku journey once again to save the worlds from the reign of Darkness, this time with help from a new face, the mysterious Ten.  In order to defeat evil, Sora must restore the hearts of those once lost to darkness.
1. I:  Fifteen

I. Fifteen

Looking out at the ocean in front of him, his face shining in the soft glow of the sunset, Sora sighed. His hand gripped the neck of a clear bottle; inside of that same bottle was a message, news he did not want to hear. He was fifteen, and he was a hero, but he didn't want to be.

In his other hand was Kairi's good luck charm. Slowly he slid it into his pocket, sighing once again. He would have to leave her behind to fulfill his duties as the keyblade master. Riku, too, would likely stay behind. Yes, it would be him, and if he was lucky, Donald and Goofy would stay by his side as they had for the past two years.

Sora slid off of the crooked paopu tree, a grimace on his face. He had just returned home, and already he was preparing to leave again. Even something simple, like sleeping in his own bed, was now impossible. Again he would have to get used to sleeping when possible, living out of their gummi ship.

"You're just going to leave, then?"

Sora didn't have to turn around to know that Riku was behind him, but he turned around anyway, just to greet his childhood friend. The sixteen-year-old's muscular arms were folded across his broad, equally muscular chest. He turned up his nose at Sora, as if in disgust.

"What choice do I have?" Sora said, frowning. "You said it yourself: this is something that has to be done."

"And since when do you do things by yourself?" Riku asked, smirking as he shifted his weight to one foot. "I think I remember a punk kid like you telling me that I did too much by myself, and that I shouldn't be afraid to ask for help from my friends."

Sora couldn't help but smile, but he shook his head. Heading toward Riku, he started to walk back to the dock.

"This is different," he insisted, taking long strides. Riku caught his shoulder as he passed. "This is _different_. I don't know what's out there, but it could be the most dangerous thing I've encountered yet. And you expect me to drag you into it?"

"And _you_ expect _me _to _care_?" Sora tried to move forward, but Riku held him in place. "Maybe you forgot-I lived in darkness for quite a while. I'm pretty sure I can handle whatever the universe throws at me."

Riku caught sight of the look on Sora's face; he seemed ready to crack.

"Riku…"

"Well, if you won't let me come, then what about _her_?"

"Aww, Riku, don't say stuff like that!"

Sora slipped out from under Riku's firm grasp at last, pouting. The other only smirked again, knowing he had Sora caught.

"…Urgh… Fine." Sora crossed his arms, straightening up as if to measure up to Riku (which was, of course, impossible). "I'll make a deal with you: you and Kairi can come with me to see the King tomorrow, but if he says you can't come any further, you have to go home. Both of you. You can handle that, right? Deal?"

"Deal," Riku said, and the two shook hands. Riku's smirk did not disappear, though, but broadened. Whether from the peer pressure or just a momentary slip of memory, Sora seemed to have forgotten one crucial fact: Riku, not Sora, was the one closest to King Mickey.

_Seems like the three of us will be traveling together after all_, Riku thought, laughing to himself as he watched Sora stroll across the sand.

A ten minute boat ride and five minute walk away, Kairi was finishing up the dishes at her home. Her adoptive parents asked no questions, and she planned to tell them nothing of what was going on in her head. Ironically, it wasn't as though her mind was distracted with multiple things; it was focused on only one thing.

Kairi was tired of being left out of the loop. She wanted to be able to help Sora if she could, and she _knew_ she could. Sure, it was true that she was not as strong as Riku, nor did she know as much about the situation as perhaps the King did. But that certainly did not mean she was useless. Surely, _surely_ there was something she could do to help. She did not want to be left behind again.

But tomorrow was the day: Sora was going to leave, and she would be stuck waiting on Destiny Islands once again. At least this time she would have Riku with her, but it wasn't enough. Kairi's patience had run out.

In the short moments it took for her to walk to her room and shut the door, Kairi began to form a plan. Whether Sora liked it or not, _she_ _was going with him._

Kairi spent the rest of the evening trying to formulate a plan, and as if to guide her thoughts in the right direction, she started to pack some of her clothes. Before she had even realized it, three hours had passed, and it was well into the night. Her parents had probably already retired for the night, and normally Kairi would be going to bed before long, too. But the quiet of the darkness was tempting, and it only encouraged her recklessness.

The sound of a little tap interrupted Kairi's raging packing. Her head turned toward the source of the noise-her window. Another tap, and then another; it took a moment for her to see the tiny pebbles clacking against the glass.

Kairi pulled back the curtains and slowly pushed her window open. Poking her head outside, she got a whiff of the dewy nighttime air. Her gaze, however, focused down below her, where someone was standing.

"About time," Sora muttered, barely audible from the distance between them. Kairi couldn't help but smile. Even if he had come to say goodbye early, the idea that he had thought to come to her house this late at night was admittedly romantic.

"What are you doing?" Kairi asked innocently.

"Look, can you come down here?" Sora said, putting his hands on his hips impatiently. Kairi giggled.

As she had done once before almost two years ago, Kairi carefully climbed through her window and hung onto the outer sill. Her left hand gripped the lattice decoration nearby, and she slowly lowered herself down.

"Geez, Kairi, could you not have used the back door?" Sora asked, his voice a mix of amusement and worry. Kairi landed on her feet, unfazed.

"That way's quieter," she replied, rubbing her slightly sore hands on her thighs. "What's going on? Will you tell me now?"

"Well…" Sora hesitated, putting his hands behind his head. Impatiently, playfully, Kairi poked his side, and he jumped, snapping back to reality.

"Okay, okay, fine. Kairi," he began, taking a deep breath, "you and Riku can come with me. But there's a catch, all right? If the King says it's not okay, then the two of you have to go home. Okay? Can you live with that?"

Kairi listened eagerly, not bothering to conceal her satisfied grin.

"I can live with that," she answered, nodding once.

"Well, you might as well go get ready," Sora said, smiling.

"I'm ready!" Kairi's grin grew broader as she watched Sora's flustered expression. "I mean, I packed some stuff, because I was going to come whether you wanted me to or not. But how much do I really need? If the three of us are together, isn't that all we need?"

Sora nodded without hesitation.

"If you agree with that, then why did Riku have to have a hand in making you take us with you?" Kairi then added. Once again, Sora grew flustered.

"B-Because! That's why!" the young hero stammered, his ears getting hot. "Because I care about you guys, and I don't want to have to make you go through the same things I might go through."

"Oh, Sora," Kairi laughed, shaking her head. "Well, it's over now. C'mon, shouldn't we pay a visit to Riku now?"


	2. II: Forty four

II: Forty-four

Riku had lived in an apartment by himself ever since returning from his journey with Sora and Kairi. Initially, he had planned to return home to his parents, as his friends had done, but that plan was quickly demolished.

His parents lived on a very wealthy part of the islands, and Riku had always grown up among people who were very well-off. These were not bad people, but they did have their faults, the ones that usually come with wealth. Riku felt that, however, his parents were different. They had never let their financial status overpower their love for their only son. While he materially was spoiled, he also was spoiled by their affection and almost constant attention.

This fact made Riku all the more nervous to return home. He, their perfect only son, had given in to the temptations around him, and he would forever walk as a broken man. Explaining this to parents who expected perfection would not be easy.

But when Riku arrived home, he didn't even get to walk through the front gate of the property; a scene he saw through the window stopped him.

Through the large windows that revealed the front room of his parents' house, Riku watched as his parents ate dinner and talked with a young boy, who looked no older than five or six years old. All three of them were smiling, and as Riku watched from afar, it soon became evident that this child was _theirs_. While it made no sense that Riku's mother could have conceived a child who would grow at a rapid rate, it _did_ make sense that his parents _adopted_ this child.

Riku was torn. Part of him, burning with jealousy, wanted to burst through the front doors and announce his return, the return of their _real_ son. But the other half of him understood. He knew his parents still loved him, and he knew that they must have been hurt to find their son missing when the islands were restored. How could he blame them for adopting a child, when their own had all but abandoned them for power?

From there, Riku had moved to the same island Kairi and Sora lived on. People didn't ask questions about where he was from or why he, a sixteen-year-old, was living by himself. Any bad-mouthing was done behind his back, from far behind, where he couldn't hear it. He lived on the fourth floor (the top floor) of his apartment complex, and the view from his windows compensated for any sense of loneliness he happened to encounter.

Sora and Kairi ran together through the darkness toward that very apartment, holding hands as they quietly passed house after house. It wasn't the first time either of them had snuck out alone at night, but this was the first time since Destiny Islands' destruction, and it was exhilarating. The only sounds besides their own breathing were the sounds of dogs barking and the padding of their feet as they made their way up the cobblestone streets.

About ten minutes later, the pair stepped up to Riku's apartment complex. When they walked inside, the woman at the front desk just smiled. She seemed to know who they were and why they were there, even though Riku had only been living there for about a month. Apparently they had visited enough times for her to catch the pattern.

When Riku was awake, he left his door unlocked, and so Sora and Kairi came bounding into the front area of room forty-four, where said teen was sprawled out over the couch, throwing a ball up in the air.

"You need to find a hobby, man," Sora said with a cheeky grin. Kairi giggled as Riku sat up, obviously unamused. Gradually, his face seemed to lighten up as he realized why they were both there at his apartment.

"You're smarter than I thought, Sora," Riku replied with a smirk, laying himself back down.

"Wh-what's that supposed to mean?" Sora demanded, his face growing red. Kairi's laughter only continued.

"Well, you're here." Riku threw the ball up in the air once again. "What's the plan from here? When are we leaving?"

"I… I haven't thought too far ahead, I guess," Sora admitted, plopping down onto the arm of the sofa Riku was lying on. "We leave tomorrow, but beyond that, it's up to the King."

"King Mickey? And you can't press any details out of _him_?" Riku's voice was obviously teasing, but there was a note of seriousness to it that could not be ignored. "Sora, have you thought to make your own decisions regarding this journey?"

"How can I? I don't know anything about what's going on."

"He's right, Riku," Kairi said, finally speaking up. "And even if we're going to see the King, that doesn't mean that the King knows everything about what's going on, either. It's a process. No matter what you say, if you were in Sora's place, you'd be stuck in the same situation."

Riku paused a moment, considering her words.

"I guess you're right," he finally agreed, sitting upright again. "But doesn't it bother you that you don't know anything about what's going on, Sora?"

"Of course it does."

"You're being awfully patient about it," Kairi added with a grin. Sora shrugged.

"What else can I do? I have to help these people. Like I said before, they helped me become who I am today. This is the least I can do for them."

"Well said," Riku murmured, leaning back on his elbows.

The three continued to talk until the wee hours of the morning, until they decided that a few hours of sleep would be in their favor. Around nine the next morning, they left Riku's apartment with no bags or luggage, only each other. Together they rowed out to the island on which they had spent so many of their childhood hours playing. That island had a lot of memories attached, and the way Sora saw it, they would one day have the time and freedom to make many more.

But for now, Sora had a responsibility to take care of, and he was undeniably lucky that he could trust his two best friends to accompany him. Though he was a little too embarrassed to say it out loud, he was very grateful for their companionship. He was happy that he did not have to go through this alone.

Still, that morning while they were waiting for the King to arrive, Sora felt more uneasy than he had the previous night. Perhaps he had reflected too much on Riku's warnings. Was he really so unprepared? Could it even be helped? Either way, Sora did not know the right answer. He only knew his own capabilities and how he could use them to help others.


	3. III: Twenty one

III. Twenty-one

Smiling to himself, King Mickey carefully landed his small gummi ship on the shore of Destiny Islands. The sky was bright and the sun was shining, much like it had the day they had all reunited after defeating Xemnas and Organization XIII. Then again, it hadn't been too long since they had last met.

The King wished that he were arriving under far different circumstances. He did not want to bring Sora out again, to use him as a machine again. Sora was young and still had a life ahead of him, but he had unfortunately been chosen to wield the keyblade, and because of Riku's past choices, he was now the Keyblade Master. No one could change his fate.

"Your Majesty!" Sora called out when the King descended from his ship. The king looked up to see not just said teen, but Kairi and Riku standing beside him. He immediately understood.

"I guess you guys are reading to go, huh?" he said, smiling at the trio. Riku's eyes seemed to reveal the happenings of the past twenty-four hours, and the King's smile only grew.

"Where are we going?" Kairi asked, following Sora and Riku to the ship. "Not that it matters. I just am curious."

"We're going to see YenSid," the King replied, closing the door behind them. Riku sat down almost immediately, as if to state that he wasn't leaving, no matter what. Sora soon followed suit, and Kairi eventually sat beside him. The King, of course, took his seat at the controls of the ship.

"So are we going to Twilight Town first, then?" Sora asked, raising his eyebrows.

"Nope! We're not taking the train this time!"

"Are we on a budget?"

"Well, unless Riku is willing to steal again…"

Riku, trying to hide his amusement and failing terribly, just rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, pretending to pout. Sora and Kairi both giggled at the pathetic expression on their older friend's face, and soon Riku too had broken out into laughter. The past, it seemed, was going to remain in the past as much as possible for the three of them.

But to King Mickey, the past was even more relevant than it had been before. The past had, in fact, come back to haunt them. Had they really made all the right decisions back then? Only the past's counterpart, the future, would be able to tell.

Surprisingly, Sora and his friends did not seem worried. Perhaps it was because they were all together, and as a unit, they felt more powerful. But the King was still doubtful. Even if they _were_ working together, would they be able to handle the task ahead of them?

The flight to YenSid's tower was not a long one. Maybe to someone who had never flown in this way before, it would have been more difficult. But the King had flown this route many times before, and he knew that taking the train would not serve them useful-not yet.

King Mickey's ship was just small enough to fit on the small patch of land next to YenSid's castle. The four heroes filed out of the ship. Only Kairi was unfamiliar with this place; even Riku had had a chance to visit it once prior. But that had been a while ago- his hair had even been longer back then, too.

Sora gazed up at the tower, lagging behind his companions. It had been a while since he had first visited this place, but the sight of the mysterious-looking tower always put him into a state of awe. He loved Destiny Islands, and he loved how beautiful they were, but this place wasn't half bad, either.

"C'mon, stop gawking," Kairi teased, pulling the spiky-haired boy along. Though this was her first time visiting, she seemed unimpressed. Either that, or she was hiding her awe much better than Sora was.

"Aw, all right," Sora mumbled, dragging his feet. He was the last of the four to enter the foyer of the castle.

"We can take the short-cut," King Mickey said with a smile.

"Short-cut?" Sora echoed. But the King did not reply; instead he walked over to the wall near the stairs and pressed his hand against it. To the group's surprise, a panel popped up, as did a small platform.

"C'mon, let's go!" the King exclaimed, stepping onto the glowing blue square. Riku immediately followed him, and Sora and Kairi hesitantly joined them.

In a matter of seconds, the four of them arrived in YenSid's study room. Sora, grateful that they didn't have to climb the perilous stairway, stepped off of the platform first.

YenSid was standing at one of the large windows, his back facing them. He did not greet them when they arrived, and it was upon his silence that Sora finally took notice of the troubling, gloomy atmosphere.

"Master YenSid!" the King exclaimed, bowing.

"I am Master no more," YenSid said in a surprisingly loud voice, "so there is no need to address me in such a manner." The wizard turned around, his aged face serious and stern. Slowly, though, it relaxed, and a smile spread across his aged face. "But for you, I may make an exception. Good to see you again, King Mickey."

"Hey there!" Sora greeted, waving. YenSid let out a laugh, looking over to the trio of teenagers standing beside the King.

"As cheerful as ever, aren't you?" the old mage chuckled, going to his desk. Slowly he sat, and the four of them walked over in front of his desk-Sora and Riku in the front, the King and Kairi standing behind them.

"So, uh…" Sora grinned, placing his hands behind his head. "I know why I…_we're_ here, but…not really. Do you mind explaining further from what the King has already told us?

YenSid paused before answering Sora's request. His eyes seemed distant, and his face had once again grown serious, almost grave. The truth was that even he did not know enough to fully help Sora and his friends.

"I cannot help you much more than the King already has," YenSid finally confessed, shaking his head slowly. "The origins of our problems go back to even before my time."

"What?" Sora cried, growing angry. "Then why are we here? And how am I supposed to figure out what's going on? And what I should do? And where I should even go?"

"Sora, calm down," Riku said quietly, and his friend fell back.

"One thing is certain: you two," with this he motioned to Sora and Riku, "must take the Mark of Mastery."

"The what?" Sora said.

"It is a trial, to test whether or not you are ready to become true Keyblade Masters. Many before you have undergone the same test."

"Well, that actually sounds kinda fun!" Sora beamed, then turned to Riku, expecting the same enthusiasm.

"I once sided with the darkness," Riku murmured, speaking more to himself than to the others. "How do I know that darkness will not try to corrupt me again if I seek out the Keyblade?"

"Aw, Riku, you can do it!" the King exclaimed. Sora nodded, and Kairi made a murmur of agreement.

"Riku, I urge you to try," YenSid said. "After all, it is you who was originally chosen to wield the keyblade."

"But why me?" Riku nearly shouted, his anger an echo of Sora's earlier outburst. "Why was I chosen?"

"I do not know the answer to your questions," YenSid continued, "but if you accompany Sora on his quest, I am certain you will find someone who does." Slowly, YenSid stood. "But, before either of you can take the test, there is something more pressing you must attend to. Sora, you must release the hearts of those once lost to the darkness: Terra, Ven, and Aqua."

"But how do I find them?" Sora wondered out loud.

"Again, I do not know. But I can assure you that I know someone who can help you more than I can. Everyone, come with me. You must meet my dear friend, Ten."


	4. IV: Ten

IV. Ten

Memo: This is to the anon who trolled on my reviews page: first, it's rōmaji, not romaNji. Second, "Nihon ni ikimasen - (I) don't/won't go to Japan." "Nihongo de hanashimasen - (You) don't/won't speak Japanese." "Square Enix wa, orokana otaku yatoumasen - Square Enix doesn't hire foolish otaku." However, yatou is the verb for "to hire," and in negative tense (as well as other tenses), the u changes to i, so it should actually read yatoimasen. There's your proof. Would you also like me to forward you my transcript and emails from my teachers while I'm at it? Thanks for giving me that challenge, though. I enjoyed it. ^^

YenSid only waited with the quartet for a little while before the strange train passed by. It stopped in front of them, and the doors quietly slid open. Sora, who had not expected to be taking the train, looked back at the former Master. But the King pulled him in, Riku and Kairi leading the way.

"Where are we going, Your Majesty?" Sora asked once they had boarded. The train lurched, and soon they were in motion, shooting across the mystical landscape. Only the King had ever gone this far on the train.

"Like YenSid said, we're going to see Ten!" the King replied, sitting down next to Riku.

"Who is Ten?" Kairi asked, sitting down across from the King.

"Someone who can help us, that's for sure." King Mickey smiled sadly. "If there's anyone who will know anything about what's going on-and what's gonna happen-it's Ten."

"Why's that?" Sora did not sit down, but instead stood by the door, watching the scenery pass by.

"Geez, Sora, take a seat," Riku interrupted, obviously frustrated with Sora's impatience. "You'll find out eventually."

"Yeah, I know, but-"

"Don't you trust the King?"

Unable to argue against that, Sora sighed, pouting in defeat. He plopped down next to Kairi, who snickered under her breath.

"Don't worry, Sora. It's not much longer at all," the King told him. At this statement, Sora stood up again.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "I'm just anxious to end this."

The King had not lied; it was only five minutes before they had arrived at their destination.

"…What is this place, Mickey?" Riku asked, his voice quiet in awe.

The building in front of them was only one story high, but below them were countless basement floors balanced, angled every which way. It seemed like impossible architecture, but upon seeing the steel bars that framed the building's corners and sides, the only impossible thing was how it had gone unnoticed for so long. The landscaping in front of the entrance was much messier than what had been in front of YenSid's castle. Obviously Ten was too busy doing other things to care about the greenery.

_What kind of guy is this Ten_? Sora wondered as King Mickey led the way up to the front door. He didn't knock or ring a bell, or even enter a passcode. The door opened as soon as they were close to it.

"Is this a trap?" Kairi asked, not hiding her caution.

"Nope! Ten leaves the door unguarded," the King answered with a smile. "Y'know, Ten helps everyone that comes here. I had days I came here, too, and so did YenSid, and even the people who taught him."

"What?" Riku said. "But, then, how old is Ten?"

"Golly, Riku, I really don't know. I can't tell. But I'd say…maybe two or three hundred years old?"

Sora stopped in his tracks for a split-second. He had _never_ heard of anyone living that long in his entire life. Immediately his suspicions grew. Ten was obviously too powerful for his own good.

The front room was rather bare, with the only noticeable thing being a door to an elevator. King Mickey approached it without hesitation, and the trio of teens followed him with much more concern in their steps. They rode the elevator down for quite some time; Sora wondered if they weren't going to the very bottom of the building.

Finally they stepped out, and the room they entered was very, very dimly lit.

"Ten!" King Mickey called out, his voice confident. "Ten! Are you here?"

There was the sound of metal against metal, and Sora drew back; he noticed Kairi and even Riku do the same. As his eyes got used to the lighting, he noticed a small, shadowy figure standing in the doorway on the adjacent side of the room. The old man was probably much shorter than normal from his hunched over back, and he wore robes in the same style as YenSid's.

Suddenly, on the far side of the room, a bright light came rushing in, and Sora cried out in surprise, shielding his eyes. After the shock had subsided, he lowered his arm to see that he was still alive. Someone had just opened the blinds. It was then that he saw Ten clearly for the first time.

Ten was not old or frail-looking, nor male. In fact, she appeared to be in her mid-twenties. Her face was youthful and bright; her large green eyes were undeniably attractive, and her lips were a solid ruby red. She had dark skin, which made her bright white hair stand out even more. It was styled into countless braids, each decorated with intricate green and blue beading. She looked like she did not belong in this world, but she was very, very beautiful.

"Ah, King Mickey!" Ten exclaimed, her voice light and airy. It was a perfect match to her appearance. "How can I help you?"

"So you're Ten?" Sora asked, unable to hide his admiration. Ten's soft facial features seemed to harden ever so slightly.

"How can I help you?" she repeated, her tone a bit sharper.

"How old are you?" Riku then added, and Kairi let out a loud laugh. "No, I don't mean that in a bad way! I-"

"_How_ _can_ _I_ _help_ _you_?" Ten said once again, articulating every word. Her voice had almost become snake-like with impatience.

"Ten, we need your help," the King finally said, and Ten's face relaxed again.

"What can I do?" she asked. Without lifting her robes, she seemed to glide across the room to her desk, which was messy and disorganized. She seemed to be a strange combination of a mad scientist and an ethereal being. Even when she sat down, her chair was simply a floating cushion, adding to her mysterious appearance. "It's been many years since we last met. You've been the king of your world for quite some time. Twenty years, I believe?"

"Twenty-one this year," King Mickey confirmed.

"Surely you've noticed the changes in the past ten years," Ten continued. "The last time we met, you had returned for training, right? This time, I assume it's different, isn't it?" She turned her head to look at Sora, Kairi, and Riku, and her eyes seemed to light up. "You three are wielders, too. How can I help you?"

"Eh? Uh…" Sora laughed nervously, and Ten's face hardened again.

"How _can_ you help us?" Riku jumped in. "We don't really know anything yet, just that Sora has a connection to past keyblade wielders. Somehow we have to help them."

Instead of answering, Ten stared at Riku intently, narrowing her eyes not in disdain, but in curiosity. She sat like that for almost a full minute, then finally sat up straight.

"You must be talking about Terra, Ventus, and Aqua," she declared. "After all, they were the keyblade wielders right before you, and they helped shape your current destinies." When Sora nodded, Ten explained further. "Currently, we do not know where either Terra or Ventus are. Both of them met rather terrible fates, but both of them could still be alive. As for Aqua, we know where she is, but it will require someone special to help us reach her. Riku, that person will be you."

"What?" Sora gasped.

"How do you know my name?" Riku asked, amazed.

"How could I not?" Ten replied. "I know all of the keyblade wielders, including the very first."


	5. V: Two by two

V. Two by two

Memo: Just so you know, I won't be updating this weekend, since I have a wedding to go to! I'll resume updates on Monday! :)

Sora couldn't help but stare at Ten. This woman before him was not only very intelligent and eccentric, but she was also a walking, talking piece of history. She might be the piece he needed to pursue his goal.

"Now, if you two are done gawking, follow me to the next room, and I can give you what you'll need to continue," Ten said, pushing her countless white braids over her shoulders. She glided to the doorway from which she had first come, and the King and Kairi followed her, Sora and Riku lagging behind them.

"How is she still alive?" Sora wondered.

"And how does she look so _young_?" Riku added. "She looks like she's not a day older than Aerith."

"I don't know…"

When the five of them had finally entered the next room, Ten snapped her fingers twice, and the lights turned on full power so as to let them see the interior. The adjacent wall was covered in gadgets, countless inventions, and tools from floor to ceiling. Another wall was another large window like the one in the previous room, but the blinds were half-closed and the curtains almost totally closed. The third wall had many shelves on it, and each shelf had book after book lined up on it. The fourth wall-the one which connected this room to the last- was very bare compared to the rest of the room, but there were a few framed pictures hung upon it, and also a large mirror.

"Y'see, fellas, Ten here is an inventor!" King Mickey explained, gesturing around the room. "Basically anything you've ever used, she invented! Besides the keyblade, of course!"

"Like I would ever invent that," Ten said quietly, more to herself than to the group. Quickly regaining her composure, she walked over to the wall loaded with inventions. It was then that Sora noticed a ladder leaning against the wall. Ten climbed up onto it skillfully, without tripping on her hair or her robes, and she slid herself across to one item that was easily recognizable.

"I'm sure you know this," Ten called down to them. In her hand was a small, orange gummi block. "This is the first one I ever made by myself."

"You invented those?" Riku asked, shocked.

"Kind of," she confessed, climbing a few steps down and sliding over to the right. "I didn't discover the stuff you make them out of; that was my husband. But I was the one who decided to try to artificially create a substance. Hasn't it been useful?"

"Very," Sora agreed, nodding.

"This is something the King must remember, right?" Ten laughed as she held out a star-shaped object. King Mickey laughed as well, sounding more embarrassed than anything else.

"I never could figure out how to properly use that thing," he admitted, scratching the back of his head. "I guess your inventions are just a little _too_ smart for me, huh?" He laughed again, and Ten's smile widened.

"Here, catch!" she shouted to Kairi, who had stayed quiet the entire time. Surprised, Kairi barely caught the object. It was shiny and made of what seemed like metal, but it was light like cloth.

"Anyway, you'll need these, too, I think," Ten said, taking some armbands down from the wall. In one swift movement, she slid down the ladder to the floor. "Have you seen these before, Sora? Riku? Kairi?"

"No," they answered in perfect unison.

"Well, don't you want to find out? Put them on."

Silently, the three snapped the bands around their arms and slid them up as far as they could go. Ten came around to each of them, standing on tiptoe to tighten them as needed.

"From now on, until this journey is over, wear these," she told them in a firm, commanding voice. "These are better than gummi blocks. They have powers to give you armor, and also to give you a ship of your own."

"A ship?" Sora echoed, tilting his head in confusion.

"Did I stutter? Yes, a ship. You can use it just like you can use gummi ships, but it's individual and much, much faster."

Ten then rolled up the sleeve on her right arm to reveal an armband of her own. The design was the same, only differing in size and color.

"I can show you how to use them later," she said, letting her sleeve back down. "But for now, let's talk about a plan of action."

Ten turned to the King, and the two of them began to talk about things the three teens already knew about: the events of the past two years. During the conversation, Riku and Kairi paired off and began a discussion of their own, leaving Sora on his own. While open to eavesdropping on either conversation, he instead opted to explore Ten's workshop further.

The wall of inventions was by far the most impressive thing in the room. Sora's eyes hurt from staring at it, and he racked his brain to see if he recognized any of it. But the collection was so vast and so beyond his understanding that he eventually lost interest and began to look at other parts of the room.

The next most interesting thing was the collection of pictures. Most of them were very, very old; he didn't know if they were originally sepia-toned, but he guessed that age had yellowed most of them. Almost all of the pictures were of Ten with someone, many with people Sora did not recognize at all. He noticed, however, that Ten looked the same in every picture. Her face had not aged past a certain point.

_Is she immortal_? Sora wondered as his eyes wandered from picture to picture. One photo seemed to stick out to him; Ten was with a young man around her age, and they were both dressed in very elaborate but ancient clothing. They were fairly young, maybe only a couple of years older than Sora himself. This had to be her husband, he concluded.

_If she's immortal, why didn't she keep her husband immortal, too_? he then thought. _Or have we just not met him yet_?

There was another stunning picture next to the one of Ten and her husband that seemed to jump out. Ten was once again with her husband, and she looked as she did in that very moment. But there was another girl there with her, probably around thirteen or fourteen. She had Ten's white hair, but her face was strong and brave. Sora could tell from the way that she held herself that she was a very noble and proud person.

_Is this…her daughter_?

"Sora, pay attention!" Kairi exclaimed, giggling. "This is important and it includes you!"

Whipping around, Sora looked at the group, all of whom looked amused except Ten. Her face was indifferent, almost completely devoid of emotion.

"S-Sorry," he mumbled, walking back over to the group. "So, what's our first step?"


	6. VI: Alone

VI. Alone

Ten's face gradually softened as she explained to Sora what they had just discussed.

"We'll be splitting up at first," she warned him, and when Sora made a face, she hurried on with her explanation. "The main reason I'm saying this is for Aqua's sake. She is currently somewhere in the dark realm, and there is only one of us who has the capability of wielding both darkness and light."

Both Sora and Ten looked over at Riku, whose eyes were lowered, as if ashamed. The former was a little surprised; he had thought that Riku would have let the whole darkness thing go by now. Then again, Sora didn't know everything that had happened to Riku (and in Riku's mind) while he was in the dark realm.

"King Mickey has graciously volunteered to go with him, in case something happens," Ten continued. "Kairi and I will be going out to the Keyblade Graveyard-"

"Kairi and I, as in not _me_, too?" Sora interrupted, frowning deeply.

"You'll be going somewhere else just as interesting, I promise," Ten replied, crossing her arms. Sora stole a glance at Kairi. She didn't look too happy about it either, but she wasn't arguing, so there must have been a decent reason for the strange decision. "But you get another day off; your companions will arrive here tomorrow."

"So when are _you_ guys leaving?" Sora asked, his frown still present.

"Tonight," Ten answered, and the young hero sighed heavily, his frustration blatantly obvious.

"Look," he began, shoving his hands in his pockets, "I'm gonna be honest here, Ten. I don't particularly like this plan. Or agree with it. In fact, I pretty much object. Is it really that necessary for us to split up? It's not like we have to do this _right now_ anyway, am I right?"

The teen turned to his friends and the King for support, but instead he just got two big, light green eyes up in his face.

"Let me put it _this_ way for you then, Sora," Ten said, her teeth clenched. She was practically hissing at him. "If you were stuck away from your friends for over a decade, with no one to talk to, with no decent living conditions-you don't even know if your friends are alive-would you be all right with the person who is supposed to save you if he said he wanted to wait even longer?"

Though he had plenty he wanted to say in reply to this statement, Sora knew better than to respond. She might have been almost a foot shorter than him, but there was no doubt that Ten was powerful.

Ten left the room in a rush after her slight blowup, and the King ran after her, leaving the three friends together, alone.

"I don't like this at all," Sora stated. "Why is it so important that we get help from her? I get that she knows people and has stuff but come on."

"I don't know, Sora," Riku said, frowning a little. "She may have more of a role to play than meets the eye. And she hasn't even given us any reason to distrust her yet."

"But she's _weird_."

"Okay, I agree with that," Kairi said with a sigh. "But like Riku said, what do we _really_ know? Can we really claim that we know more than her? I mean, she's been around a long time, Sora. I don't like this plan either, trust me, but I think we should try it, simply because we have nothing else to try."

Sora pursed his lips, trying to come up with a counter-argument, but after a few moments, he realized there really wasn't one. Kairi and Riku were right: even if they didn't like her, they had to trust Ten.

"I guess I should go apologize, then," the fifteen year old said, crossing his arms.

"Don't bother."

Sora turned to see Ten in the doorway, her face looking bright again.

"I heard what you said, and I understand your situation," she continued as the others looked on, red-faced and slack-jawed. "But I am begging you to trust me. If we can do this, things will work out in our favor in the end. And so far, this is the only plan we've got."

"We'll do it," Riku stated before Sora could once again make himself sound like an idiot. "Just tell us what to do to get ready, and we'll do this."

"I just want to finish this and move on with my life," Sora added. "I… I trust you, Ten."

There was a hint of a smile on Ten's face, but it was only present for a moment before a wave of seriousness broke over her youthful face.

"I'm glad to hear you say that," she said. "Kairi, come with me. Riku, you'll find the King in the next room. Sora…" Ten pointed to her desk, where there were stacks of documents lying in wait. "Please, start reading those and educating yourself. We'll meet back here before we all leave."

Kairi and Riku willingly obliged, glad to be able to help it whatever way they could. Sora however, trudged over to Ten's desk, grimacing. He was not as smart as the others, so why was he stuck with the heavy reading?

"This is awful," he groaned under breath, sitting down on Ten's plush, floating chair. The moment he put the first book in front of him, he wanted to lay his head down on the desk and sleep.

But then he remembered his friends, and how they were depending on him. This was his responsibility-his duty to set things back in order. Even if it was going to take time, he had to try this out.

The pictures across the room caught Sora's eye once again, and he found himself staring at the picture of Ten and her daughter. It seemed that the longer he looked at the picture, the younger her daughter looked. As the minutes passed, Sora realized that she was not in her teens at all; she was lucky to be ten. But her face was that of someone who had seen the world. She looked incredibly wise, and were it not for the rest of her body, she might have looked older than her parents.

Shaking his head quickly, Sora looked back down at the book he had to read. He opened it to the first page, and to his surprise, there were no words, only pictures.

The first few pages were simply pictures of the dynamic of the keyblade as a weapon. But the following pages were much more interesting. One picture was labeled to be of the first generation of keyblade wielders. Ten's daughter was among them.


	7. VII: All for one

VII. All for one

Sora's readings did not take as much time as he had hoped; by the time his friends were ready to depart, he only have one book left to finish, and it was mostly pictures. He wanted something, anything, to distract him from the couple of hours he would be spending alone in Ten's study. As much as he denied it outwardly, in both appearance and speech, he was extremely worried about Kairi and Riku.

Kairi was, admittedly, not as strong physically as Sora or Riku, but she was strong-willed. However, that aspect of her personality had gotten her into trouble before, and Sora and Riku were usually the ones to get her out of whatever fix she was in. Without either of them there, how would she fare?

Riku was an entirely different concern. He was more than capable of taking care of himself, including getting himself out of most situations he might encounter. With the King at his side, he would probably be fine. What Sora worried about with his oldest and closest friend was his mental state. If he made a mistake again, even a small one, Riku would likely beat himself up over it. Even with the King there, he would likely start to withdraw.

_How can I save these people if I can't even manage to protect my own friends_? Sora wondered, his head in his hands as Kairi, Riku, Ten, and the King entered the room.

"Chin up, Sora!" the King exclaimed, walking over to the desk. Sora slowly looked up, his face indifferent. "We'll be back together in no time!"

"He's right, Sora," Kairi said, smiling. "It's literally just a matter of days before we see each other again. The sooner we do this, the sooner we can all be together again, right? The sooner things can relax again, right?" She looked at Ten, who nodded slowly, her eyes looking clouded with thought.

"That wasn't convincing at all," Sora said, looking right at Ten. She seemed to jump in surprise, and she quickly turned to Sora, walking over to the desk.

"After this mission, this journey, your life will return to normal, as normal as it can be since the events of the keyblade," Ten declared, the uncertainty in her eyes completely gone. "I have faith that you three can finish this. I would even be willing to swear my life upon it."

"Don't be doing things like that," Riku said quickly, finally intervening. "We'll get through this. We always have, and as long as we're working together, we definitely will."

Ten nodded in agreement, her glowing eyes fixed on Sora's sapphire blue ones. He eventually sighed, then nodded as well, standing. As he stretched, Kairi walked over to him and hugged him lightly around the waist.

"Take care of yourself until we get back, okay?" she said quietly, squeezing him a little. Sora dropped his arms to hug her back.

"I will, don't worry about me," he assured her. "Just be careful."

"Being careful never got me anywhere," she admitted, standing upright. "I'll do what I can to help you, and that's that."

Sora was surprised at her answer, but before he could insist, before he could make her promise to be as careful as she could, she walked away. At Ten's side, she smiled, and then suddenly the two disappeared into thin air, probably by Ten's work.

"C'mon, man, are you really going to let your girlfriend out-will you?" Riku said, smirking. Sora frowned, unamused. "Oh, wipe that pathetic look off of your face. Time'll go by quickly. It always does."

"…Take care of yourself, too, all right?" Sora murmured, avoiding eye contact.

Riku stayed silent. He could tell that his friend was not only worried about Kairi, but about him, the one who had once strayed.

"It'll be all right," Riku assured Sora, but his voice was overly cheerful, and the declaration only sounded out of character.

"Don't worry about a thing, Sora!" the King jumped in, seeing he was needed. "We'll be back in no time. In fact, I think Riku and I can beat Kairi and Ten back. Whaddya say?"

"Good point." Riku smirked. "Wanna make a bet?"

"…I don't doubt you on _that_," Sora admitted with a hint of a smile. "All right. See you soon."

With a confident nod of his head, Riku clapped his hand on Sora's shoulder reassuringly, then walked over to King Mickey. Just like Ten and Kairi had, they disappeared together in a flash.

Truly alone, Sora let out a frustrated, impatient sigh.

"It's only been ONE MINUTE and I'm already bored out of my mind!" he shouted into the empty building.

Defeated, Sora plopped back down into Ten's chair. With the last book in front of him, he managed to waste another hour alone, pouring over pictures and their tiny captions. Surprisingly, he _had_ learned a lot. He now even knew what Aqua, Terra, and Ven looked like. He also was able to read about Master Xehanort, and a man named Master Eraqus, who had trained alongside him.

"This is so complicated," Sora said to himself, turning to the last page of the book. "Why is there no family tree? Or timelines? Even _one timeline_ would be _so_ helpful right now. How am I supposed to remember all of this stuff all by myself?"

"Good thing you're not all by yourself, then, huh?"

Sora looked up from the book he was reading to see two shadows in the doorway. He stood up, his keyblade coming to his hand.

"Gawrsh, no need to get that worked up!" the taller figure said with a laugh. The familiarity of that laugh…

"Donald… Goofy…?" Sora murmured, stepping around the desk.

Sure enough, Donald came into view, and Goofy followed him. Sora heard a bark, and suddenly Pluto came dashing into the room. Overcome with shock, Sora stood in place stupidly as the dog eagerly licked his hands.

"You… You guys are here!" he exclaimed, the reality of the situation finally becoming clear. "You're coming with me?"

"You betcha!" Goofy replied, giving Sora a thumbs-up.

"We couldn't just let you go running off all by yourself, and you know it!" Donald added, cackling. Sora didn't feel insulted-he didn't even care. He was just so happy to see familiar faces, to know that even if he felt lost, he had two great friends by his side, no matter what.

"The gummi ship is parked outside!" Donald said, jabbing his feathery thumb over his shoulder. "We should get going!"

"But…but where are we going?" Sora asked as Pluto pulled on his pantleg, urging him to walk.

"Didn't you read? We get to explore new worlds!"


	8. VIII: Many miles

VIII. Many miles

Memo: Hi again! Unfortunately, I have another obligation this weekend...and the one after that...and the one after that! So basically, until the weekend of March 10th, I will NOT update on weekends! Expect updates on MWF as I have been doing. Thank you, and enjoy!

Cracking his knuckles, Sora wiggled around in the pilot's seat of the gummi ship. Donald sighed impatiently, and Goofy yawned. They had been flying for a while, and Heartless ships were there to greet them at every turn. It didn't help that all they had guiding them were someone else's directions, which were rather cryptic and poorly written. (Either that, or Sora and company were not as intelligent as they believed themselves to be.)

"Do you see it yet?" Sora asked his friends as he focused on wiping out a couple of small Heartless ships. Donald grumbled something unintelligible from the backseat.

"Are ya sure we're goin' the right way?" Goofy said. Sora sighed.

"I'd like to _think_ so," he mumbled. But he was beginning to doubt his map-reading skills, and he sighed again, this time much more noticeably frustrated.

"It's all right, Sora," Goofy reassured him. "Just don't give up."

"I know, I know…"

Thinking of Kairi and Riku, Sora pressed on. He was still not entirely confident as to where they were, and he came to the decision to stop at the next world they passed to re-gather information on their whereabouts.

But before he could announce this to Donald and Goofy, Donald quacked loudly in excitement. He pointed a white feathered finger over Sora shoulder, straight ahead of them.

"There!" he exclaimed. "Isn't that it?"

"Hang on, hang on," Sora said, grabbing the map to look at the illustration. Sure enough, the drawing matched the world floating in front of them almost perfectly, and Sora's heart lifted in excitement. "Okay, we're going in!"

Landing was always Sora's least favorite part of flying. Not only was it difficult to land smoothly, but usually finding a place to land was all based on fate. He knew he had gotten lucky when they stopped in the middle of a grassy field with nothing in sight for acres. Slowly, Sora exited the ship, followed by Donald and Goofy.

The world they were in was, to say the least, very bright and sunny. They were surrounded by flowers and tall, yellow-green grass in nearly every direction. In the far distance, there appeared to be the edge of a forest, and in the opposite direction was some kind of fortress or city wall.

"Where should we go first?" Sora asked his companions. Donald pointed toward the city, while Goofy pointed toward the forest. "…I knew that was going to happen. All right, we'll settle this the hard way."

Donald and Goofy faced each other, completely straight-faced.

"Rock, paper, scissors, SHOOT!" they shouted, throwing out their bets. Donald cackled in joy upon realizing he had won.

"The city it is, then," Sora declared with a grin. "Sorry, Goofy. Maybe next time."

Unfazed and as cheerful as ever, Goofy shrugged, and the trio started to walk toward the city wall.

The walk took some time, and all the while Sora thought of Riku and Kairi. Though he was more than happy to have Donald and Goofy by his side again, he worried about the others. After all, _he_ had dragged them into this. He could have argued against them from the beginning, he could have somehow managed to make them stay behind. But he had caved, he let them come, and now that they were separated from each other, they had become his responsibility and the main source of all of his worries.

Though Donald and Goofy said nothing, they both sensed Sora's anxiety. However, neither of them knew exactly what to say to comfort him. They were worried about the King, obviously, but the two situations were not comparable.

As they got closer to the city, they realized that it was not a city they were heading toward, but a palace. The outer wall was all they could see from afar, but as they got closer, they could see towers and other parts of the fortress. It was constructed of a beautiful yellow-brown brick, and though it wasn't as big as most castles, it was still impressive.

"Good choice, Donald!" Sora said with a laugh as they walked toward the moat. "This place looks awesome. Hopefully we can find people who know something about Ven here!"

On his particular part of the quest, Sora's main focus was to find Ven's whereabouts. From what he had figured out on his own, there were only a few worlds that Ven traveled to before his heart was damaged. Sora supposed that somewhere in these worlds there was a clue as to where to find Ven now.

"I still think there mighta been somethin' important in that forest," Goofy said.

"We can check that next," Donald said. "But the gate is down right now, so we should check here first."

"Donald's right," Sora agreed, nodding as they walked over the moat and into the castle's outer circle. "We have to take advantage of this opportunity while we can. It might not be available later. But I _do_ think we should definitely check out the forest later. There probably won't be any people there, but there will definitely be neat things to check out on our own."

But as the heroes walked through the castle and went further and further in, they found it to be eerily empty. There were no people out and about, not even any beggars. Sora, to say the least, was disappointed. He had expected hoards of people, or at least a few men and women here and there. Was there even a king living here?

"Where are all of the people?" he wondered out loud as they climbed a staircase. In the outer walls of the castle, it was quiet. What would the inside be like? There was only one way to find out. Holding his breath in anticipation, Sora opened the old wooden door and stepped inside.

To his disappointment, he had not stepped into a bustling metropolis, nor did he find himself standing in a beautiful castle. Instead, they had somehow ended up in a cold, dark waterway. The place smelled of decay and held no signs of life, not even a rat.

"What is this place?" Donald asked, irritated. "Where is everybody?"

"HELLO!" Sora suddenly shouted. The only reply he received was his own voice echoing off the dark blue walls. "…Well? What should we do, guys? Should we keep going in?"

"This can't be all there is to the castle, right?" Donald said. "We should keep going, and then if the inside of the castle is empty, we can leave and go to the forest."

Sora and Goofy nodded in agreement. Surely no one royal would abandon their castle, and even if they did, they would have to leave clues behind.


	9. IX: Seven

IX. Seven

After countless minutes spent wandering through the underground waterway, Sora and his companions finally found their way to the other side. Luckily, there were no Heartless there, just traps. But even the traps were reassuring; Sora decided that if there were traps, they must be guarding something. That was usually the rule of thumb.

However, the door led the trio to yet another empty room.

"…Really, where _is_ everyone?" Sora asked to the air. "This is a _castle_-shouldn't there be a prince or a princess, or even their servants?"

"Gawrsh, Sora," Goofy said, "maybe this place just _used_ to be a castle. Maybe the people who ruled this kingdom died, or left."

"Yeah, maybe there's another castle somewhere else now," Donald added, nodding.

"Well, we don't know that for sure." Sora crossed his arms, looking around the room. "Let's explore a little bit, and then if we really are in an empty room, we can just go to that forest. Agreed?"

Donald and Goofy nodded in assent, and so the three walked further into the room.

Had there been furniture or people in the room, Sora would have thought it to be a throne room. Just from the layout, he could tell that the room had been used for more private matters-the size was just large enough to comfortably fit only a few people. There was a large window at one end of the room, but it was covered with dark red curtains that were very thick and covered in a layer of dust.

"Everything looks untouched," Sora noted out loud. "But not by much. Maybe just a few years?" He shook his head. "Aw, what am I saying? How would _I_ know?"

"But you _are_ right about the dust," Donald said. "This place has been empty for a long time."

"Say, fellas, what do you suppose this thing is?"

Sora and Donald turned to Goofy to see him standing next to the curtains. He had opened them to reveal not a window, as Sora had supposed, but a large, dark mirror. Amazed, Sora walked up to it, and a dimly lit version of himself stared back. Though the mirror was obviously ancient, and the picture Sora saw was dark, the mirror itself seemed alive.

As Sora continued to gaze into his reflection, he noticed it become distorted, and he put a hand to his own face, just to make sure he was okay. His reflection did not move, and, startled, Sora took a huge step backward.

"W-what is this thing!" he shouted, pointing at the mirror as the reflection of himself became engulfed in dark green smoke. Without thinking, his keyblade came to his hand in defense. "It's alive!"

"Calm down, Sora," Donald said, but Sora could see he was scared too.

The green smoke totally filled the glass, but after a few moments, it formed a mask-like face that stared back at them. Its eyes were only black slits that had no sign of life in them, but the face floated there, as if living.

"It has been many years since anyone has passed through here," it said, its voice deep and intimidating. Sora took another small step back. "It has been many ages since I was last able to appear. But what brings you three to this place? Why did you so desire to see my face?"

"I-I didn't!" Sora exclaimed nervously. "I…"

"Are you lost, then, you three? Or is there something else for you to see?"

"…Are you saying you can answer anything we ask you?" Sora asked, suddenly getting an idea. If this mirror had existed when people had last lived here, maybe it knew something they didn't.

"In days of old, I belonged to the Queen of this place," the mirror replied. "But she is long gone, and yet remains my face. I cannot admit to being of use, but I am a slave to answer questions profuse."

"Awesome!" Sora walked closer to the mirror. "My first question is, what happened to the people who lived in the castle we're in now?"

"As I mentioned before, there was once a Queen living here, and here she spent many a day out of fear. She was jealous and spiteful and full of hate, but her power was bountiful, and her witchcraft was great. However, about ten years ago, she was chased off a cliff and died there below."

"So who took over?" Goofy then asked.

"And who was the one who chased her?" Sora added. After getting over his initial fear, he now was rather pleased. The information they needed was coming out now, but at what price?

"I know that the Queen often feared for her power, for she did not live by herself in this tower," the mirror continued. "There resided a maiden more beautiful than all; she was the reason for the Queen's fall. Saved by warriors, she married a prince, but both have left this old place long since."

"Where are they now?" Donald asked.

"Into the forest they now reside, and with seven dwarfs they live alongside. You see, those dwarfs took care of that maid, and the debt of friendship is repaid. They are the ones who chased the Queen; not far into the forest can their home be seen."

"You were right, Goofy!" Sora cried. "Okay, that's great! Thank you so much for helping us!"

"It is both my duty and pleasure; for to me, knowledge will always be a treasure."

Sora grinned, and he turned to his friends to signal them to head out. But as they headed to the door, he recalled one part of the mirror's story that had gone unanswered.

"Wait," Sora murmured, turning back to the mirror. Its face was still there, as if waiting for his response. "You said that the princess we're about to go see was saved by warriors?"

"With keys like yours the two of them came, but neither of them offered a name," the mirror replied. Sora's heartbeat quickened.

"What did they look like?" Sora said.

"The man stood tall, with solid frame and brave mind, and physical strength that must rest with your kind. The woman, too, was brave and strong. In her heart I sensed no wrong. I recall this detail now as we speak; before my memory was still weak. The young man told me in his retort that he was searching for a man named Xehanort."

"Terra!" Sora exclaimed, shocked.

"Indeed, that name does ring a bell, but with the girl, between us only battle fell. I tell you this before you go: if you seek the princess, these people she may know. "

"You hear that, guys?" Sora said as the mirror's face faded out of view. "We've gotta get to the forest, quick!" The teen turned back to the mirror to thank it once again, but it had turned back to its original state, never to speak again.


	10. X: Less

X. Less

Memo: I apologize for the late update! But…nobody is really saying much about this story… What do you guys think? Do you like it? Or would you like something else? Your thoughts really count; I won't bother with this story if you want something else!^^;;

The walk to the forest was twice as long as the walk to the castle, but to Sora it felt much quicker. Perhaps it was because he had some sense of direction now, even in a place he had never been to before. By the time they had reached the edge of the forest, the sun was beginning to set, and the trees were cast into shadows.

"Should we wait?" Donald asked.

"No way," Sora said defiantly. "We know that there are gonna be people here. Why should we wait?"

"What if we get lost, Sora?" Goofy added.

"It'll be all right," Sora assured them. "Really. If we keep up this pace, we can get there in no time. C'mon!"

Unable to argue with him or cloud his enthusiasm, Donald and Goofy reluctantly followed Sora further into the forest. The deeper they wandered in, the darker the sky above them became, both due to the change in time and the shade of the countless towering trees.

Luckily, the forest was calm, and there was no sense of danger for any of the three. They walked for quite a while on open soil, as if many others had walked on the same path time and time again. In fact, in some areas, the forest was quite open, and there were even animals running about. After a while, the trees became even sparser, and soon the trio could see light in the background.

"Hang on, Sora!" Donald exclaimed, grabbing the back of Sora's shirt to stop him from running off. "We don't know what that is!"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sora countered, whirling around. He pushed Donald's wing away, frustrated. "It's a _house_. It's the place the mirror told us about!"

"But Sora, it might be something else!" Goofy said.

"Like _what_?"

Donald and Goofy stood silent, trying to think of another explanation, but as their pause grew, so did Sora's triumphant smile.

"That's what I thought. C'mon, let's go!"

Free of Donald's grip, Sora let out a laugh and sprinted off in the direction of the lights. Donald and Goofy, once again left with no other choice, chased after him. If they were running into battle, at least they weren't unarmed.

However, Sora was right, and soon they had reached a cottage of epic proportions. It seemed as though the cottage had had additions built on to it, since the main portion differed in appearance from its side wings. Either way, it looked anything but threatening or scary. Even the glowing lights from inside spoke of comfort, and Sora could swear he heard music coming from nearby.

"How should we go in?" Sora wondered, more to himself than his companions. "Bust in? Knock? Will they even notice us over the music?"

Unable to notice his friends' responses over the sound of the music and his own thoughts, Sora reached out and pushed the door open, stepping inside the house.

As expected, the music was indeed coming from the main room of the house. The furniture had all been pushed to the sides of the room, and the center was filled with the smallest people Sora had ever seen. A few of them were playing instruments-the source of the music-while the rest were dancing in the middle of the room. Some of them appeared to be children, but others were bearded men, fully adult in every other way but their height.

Puzzled, Sora wandered a little further into the room. It seemed that the only two people of normal size were one man and one woman. The man was in the middle of the room, dancing with a young girl, presumably a relative of his. However, the woman was watching on the side, clapping her hands to the beat. She was admittedly beautiful, and even though she didn't look like royalty, Sora figured she must be the princess.

As inconspicuously as he could, Sora sidled around the room to the princess' side. She jumped when she saw him, her dark eyes growing wide. Her mouth opened, as if to cry out, but for some reason she stopped. Sora sighed in relief and approached her.

"Are you the princess who lives in this place?" he asked. She nodded, her eyes still a little wide. "Oh, yes! Okay, I'm Sora, and that's Donald and Goofy. Miss, do you know who-"

"Hey! What're YOU rascals doin' here!" a voice suddenly shouted. Sora, who had not expected the sudden outcry, nearly jumped out of his skin. He quickly turned to see Donald and Goofy face to face with one of the dwarves, who was staring them down.

"Wait! Wait a second!" Sora cried, running over to them. The focus of the entire room was on them. "I can explain!"

"How rude to break into someone's house!" the little girl said, frowning up at Sora. It was obvious whose child she was; her eyes had the same soft glow as her mother's.

"I-I'm not trying to break in!" Sora insisted. "I need your guys' help! We're looking for information about some people that you might know!"

"Well, get on with it then!" another one of the dwarves said. "You're interrupting our party!"

Hesitating, Sora looked over at Donald and Goofy, who nodded. They only seemed to want to leave this place as soon as possible.

"Okay, well, do any of you know anybody by the name of Terra, Aqua, or Ven?" Sora asked.

"I thought you looked familiar," the princess said. "You can call me Snow White. You're related to Ven, aren't you? You look a lot alike in the face."

"Ven? Wasn't he that no-good diamond thief?" one of the dwarves asked. They all began to murmur amongst themselves.

"Oh, goodness, how many times must I tell you? Ven was a kind young man." Snow White turned back to Sora and company. "I knew all three of them. Why are you looking for them? Has something happened?"

"A lot, honestly," Sora replied, scratching the back of his head. "Too much to explain right now. But can you tell me where they went? Do you know?"

Frowning, Snow White slowly shook her head.

"I haven't heard from them in a very long time," she said. "I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you."

Sora sighed, shaking his head quickly.

"No, no. I-It's all right. Sorry to interrupt your party."

Without another word, Sora walked outside. Defeated, he sat on a nearby stump. Donald and Goofy walked to his side, but as soon as they reached him, he stood once again and began to walk back toward their ship. He remained silent the rest of the walk, his bitter expression shrouded in the darkness of the night.


	11. XI: Eleven

XI. Eleven

Warping was a new and unusual experience for Kairi. She had walked through portals before, but there was no strange spinning sensation, nor did her feet ever leave the ground. Walking through a portal was like walking through an automatic door. Warping, however, was quite different.

In the few moments of travel she experienced, Kairi couldn't see anything around her. The only things she could feel were a strong wind and Ten's small cold hand gripping hers. It all was rather foreign and new, and she felt infinitely better once her body was engulfed in a warm, bright light.

"Open your eyes, Kairi," Ten commanded, releasing the teen's hand. Kairi blinked her eyes open, then pursed her lips. "Is it familiar at all?"

"…A little," she confessed, looking around. They had arrived in a large library, and though Kairi didn't recognize it at first, as they stood in the silence it became more and more familiar to her. "Am I really…home?"

"I'm sorry," Ten replied with a grimace. "It's probably not the kind of homecoming you expected, huh?"

"Not really."

Kairi sighed heavily. How long had it been since she last set foot in this place? Was it really eleven years earlier that she was an innocent child, protected and loved by the people around her? Her future had become quite different since then.

As she looked around the library, Kairi's memories slowly came back to her. They were rather pleasant ones; ones that were spent blissfully unaware of the future, and instead in the midst of childhood. Kairi had hoped to return here one day, but much later in her life. She had also imagined that Sora would accompany her, but obviously that was not the case.

"So…why are we here?" Kairi asked, turning to Ten. "Why, specifically?"

"Can you _not_ see the books that currently surround us?" Ten started to walk away, and Kairi followed her, having no other choice. "There is a multitude of information in this place, but we're looking for one book in particular."

"Which is?"

"A book about the place I think we'll find Terra waiting for us."

After walking for a minute or so, Ten stopped in front of a huge bookcase.

"It should be somewhere up there," she said quietly, grimacing as she craned her neck to get a better view. "You know, I've been to this place only once before, and I hadn't planned on going back. But if it's to help protect everyone else, if it's for everyone's sakes, I'll do it again."

"What's so bad about it?" Kairi asked. Ten didn't answer; she instead kept her gaze locked on the bookshelf. Her hands fell to her belt, which had several pouches and gadgets latched on.

"Step back," Ten instructed. Kairi did so, and in a split-second, Ten had grown about three feet in height-or moreso, her _shoes_ had. But even with the sudden height difference, Ten still had to stretch to reach the book she wanted.

"How did you invent something like that?" Kairi said with a laugh as Ten's shoes shrank to their normal, petite size.

"Plenty of free time," Ten said. Her face was solemn, and soon Kairi's grin faded.

_This is going to be a long journey,_ she thought as Ten handed her the book.

"Do me a favor and glance through this. See if you can find anything about a man named Master Xehanort."

Kairi nodded, opening the heavy book as Ten wandered around the library. Though she stayed within earshot at all times, every moment or so she would disappear behind a bookshelf. Admittedly, Kairi found her impatient pacing annoying, and her reading was only slowed by the distraction.

"The first time I went to the Keyblade Graveyard was when my daughter died."

Startled, Kairi slowly looked up from the book. Ten was standing with her back to Kairi, but it was her voice Kairi had heard. That much was certain.

"She was only twelve. Not even close to an adult. Even younger than you guys were when you first were granted the ability to wield a keyblade. But she always looked older."

"She didn't get that from you," Kairi said quietly, unable to hide her smirk. Ten turned to Kairi, her face devoid of emotion.

"No, she didn't," she replied. "My husband always looked much older than I thought him to be."

Ten's response surprised Kairi; Ten mentioned her husband's appearance, but had completely ignored her own. Was she not aware of how young she still looked? Kairi was afraid to ask.

"The memories I have from that place have been kept inside me for a very long time," Ten continued. Kairi watched her with a careful, steady eye. "I didn't think I would ever be able to face what had happened there. But when you and your friends came, I knew the time had come. We must finish what the past has started for us. It's been too long already."

Kairi nodded, and without another word, she began to glance through the book. She thought that, if she remained obedient to Ten's command, she would not only come closer to ending this journey, but she would also be able to learn more about the past through Ten herself. Obviously Ten was holding back information, but Kairi was pleasantly surprised to hear her reveal a little bit more about what had happened many years ago.

"I think I found it," Kairi said a few minutes later. She pulled back from the book, but she kept her finger on the page. "There's also something here about a Master Eraqus."

"He was the one who trained the generation before you. Had he lived, he likely would have trained you and your friends as well," Ten explained, crossing her arms across her chest as she frowned in thought. "But he died some time ago. I'm not entirely sure how he died, though. I was hoping that book would tell me. Us." Ten made a face that was a mix between frustrated and amused. "You'll have to forgive me. I've worked alone for so long that I'm not used to having to worry about anyone else."

Kairi didn't say anything, even as Ten snatched the book out of her hands. Even having been transported from her hometown to a new world, even after being separated from her friends, Kairi realized in that moment that she had never truly experienced loneliness. Even when Sora was gone, she had always had someone else by her side. She had never been truly alone. Ten, on the other hand, obviously had a different life, and her experiences were quite different.

"Kairi, I… Hmm…"

Kairi turned to Ten, who was pursing her lips as she read the book.

"What is it?" she asked, a frown crossing her face.

"Well… This whole thing may be more complicated than I thought."


	12. XII: Teens

XII. Teens

Closing his eyes, Sora leaned his head back in his seat. He couldn't stay that way for long, though, otherwise he was sure to fall asleep at the wheel. (Or, moreso, at the controls.)

Even after seeing Snow White and exploring a new world, they had only found one clue. Sora had expected more from the trip, and so his spirits were badly hurt from the ordeal. He just felt tired as a result, and it took every ounce of self-control to keep himself awake while flying to their next destination.

Thankfully, the next place they had decided to explore was not new to them, though they would likely explore more of it than they had previous seen. But Sora _had_ promised a return trip to Neverland, and the time had finally come.

"Gawrsh, I'm kinda excited!" Goofy exclaimed from beside Sora.

"Me too! Aren't you, Sora?" Donald agreed.

Sora just nodded, straightening up even though he was already sitting perfectly upright in the pilot's chair.

"I missed flying," he admitted with a tilted grin. Slowly, his smile faded as he thought of Riku and Kairi.

_I told them we'd go together someday_, he realized, sighing. _When exactly will 'someday' be?_

"Sora! No frowning!" Donald quacked angrily as the gummi ship swayed lazily. Sora jumped, then forced a smile; the ship straightened up.

"Sorry, guys," he said with a small chuckle. Goofy laughed as well, while Donald forced a smile of his own, for the sake of flight.

Luckily, the rest of the trip didn't take long, and Sora's cheeks only hurt a little when they finally left their ship.

This journey in particular differed greatly from their last visit to Neverland, mainly because of the difference in area that they were going to explore. On their first visit, they were confined to Captain Hook's ship because of Riku and other circumstances. But this time, they were actually standing foot on one of the small, colorful islands that made up Neverland. It was much brighter than the ship had been, and certainly more interesting.

Even though Sora was still in a bit of a sour mood, the prospect of free exploration was enticing, and he couldn't help but smile as he looked around. They were surrounded by naturally-made high rock walls, dividing up the area into a sort of four-way intersection. In one direction, Sora could see smoke as if from a fire.

"I'm not sure whether to head in that direction or to steer clear of it," Sora admitted.

"It might be dangerous," Donald agreed.

"We should try to find Peter," Goofy said. Sora nodded. "And I dunno if he'd be where there's danger if he didn't have to be there!"

"Good point, Goofy," Sora agreed. "Let's go into the jungle area. We might be more likely to find him there."

"Wait a second, Sora," Donald said, and Sora stopped mid-step. "Peter would go wherever Captain Hook would go, right? Maybe we should try to find _him_ first."

Putting his foot on the ground again, Sora thought for a moment. Both Donald and Goofy were right, but which was the path to follow first? He was ready to flip a coin over it, when suddenly his questions were answered with the sound of loud voices coming from the jungle area.

"C'mon, guys! We're just getting started!"

"But I'm already tired!"

"Come on, Cubby, you can do it!"

Their voices intermingled; all of them sounded like children. Soon the group came into view, and indeed, they were all significantly younger and smaller than Sora.

"Whoa! Strangers!" the biggest one of the group shouted upon seeing the trio. He hid behind a taller, lanky kid. He was wearing a suit that had a pair of fox ears and a tail to match.

"Who are you guys?" he asked in a loud, obnoxious voice.

"We're-"

"Are you looking for the treasure, too?" the fox-kid continued.

"Pirates!" the bigger kid said.

"No, we're not pirates!" Sora shouted, startling the kids. "I mean, we're fighting against them, too. But right now we're looking for Peter Pan."

"You know Peter?" a set of twins gasped, looking at each other, then at Sora.

"Yeah, we-"

Before Sora could continue, a bright ball of light came soaring at him, flying up in his face. Had he been anywhere else, he would have dodged it, but he knew exactly what was going on.

"Look, fellas, she recognizes him!" the bigger kid exclaimed as Tinker Bell flew around Sora in excitement. "He _must _ know Peter!"

"You rang?"

Suddenly, flying into view from the opposite direction of the animal-clad kids, Peter Pan came, hands on his hips.

"Peter Pan!" the kids shouted, running over to him. Tinker Bell, too, went to his side, leaving Sora to watch.

"How's the treasure hunt going, guys?" Peter asked, grinning brightly.

"We got distracted by those guys!" the fox-kid said, pointing at Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Peter's face brightened, genuinely surprised.

"Well, I'll be!" Peter flew over to Sora, getting right up in his face. "It's…Sora, right?"

"Sure am," Sora replied, smiling. Peter backed off a little bit.

"You…grew up," he said, frowning.

"Nah, I just got older." Sora's grin broadened. "There _is_ a difference."

Peter paused, then his smile reappeared.

"Fair enough! So, would you gentlemen like to join us on our treasure hunt?"

"Well, actually-"

"Great! Lost Boys, take these men into your company!"

"Yes sir!"

Sora felt his hands being grabbed, and soon the Lost Boys were pulling him along on their adventure.

"Wait, Peter, I-"

But his protest was muffled by the excited chatter of the Lost Boys.


	13. XIII: Halves

XIII. Halves

Since the Lost Boys' cheering was so enthusiastic and loud, Sora decided to wait until they stopped to explain his situation to Peter. But that, of course, never happened. Sora, Donald, and Goofy followed the Lost Boys and their leader all over Neverland before they finally ended up right back where they had started.

"We're gettin' close, right, Peter?" the one named Cubby asked, his enthusiasm only clouded by his panting.

"You big dummy!" Slightly, the fox-kid shouted. "Can't you see we're back where we started?"

"But that's what the map says!" Nibs, a kid dressed as a rabbit, pointed out, looking at Peter.

"I didn't write the map this time!" Peter said, holding his hands up as if to plead 'not guilty.' "Toodles, is this what you wanted?"

The group turned to a small, silent kid dressed as a skunk. His round, chubby face brightened, freckles included. Nodding, he clapped his hands excitedly.

"Adventure for the sake of adventure…I like it!" Peter crossed his arms, looking proud. "Well, men, if the treasure is here, find it!"

Letting out a collective shout, the Lost Boys scrambled about, crawling in bushes and jumping in puddles. Sora took the one spare moment Peter had had so far and decided to use it to his advantage.

"Say, Peter, I have a question for you," Sora began.

"I don't know where the treasure is, either!" Peter said, laughing.

"Uh, no, that's not what this is about."

Noting Sora's serious attitude, Peter turned to him, again placing his hands on his hips.

"Well, then, spit it out!"

"Peter, did you ever meet someone named Ven?"

"Ven? You know Ven?"

"Uh, not exactly, but I-"

"I sure did meet a Ven!" Peter stuck out his bottom lip in thought. "In fact, you guys kinda look alike, now that I think about it. But yeah! He came a long time ago-said he'd come back, but he never did."

Tapping his index finger to his chin, Peter paused before continuing.

"You know, he left us something of his, but somehow it got broken."

"Really?" Sora gasped, feeling hopeful again at last. "Can you show it to me?"

"Sure thing! After we find this treasure, of course."

Sora didn't mind, not at all. He was simply overjoyed at the prospect of physical evidence, a possible clue, something that would bring him closer to home base. When he looked at Donald and Goofy, he could tell that they were happy, too.

"I got it! I got it!" the twins began to shout.

"No you didn't! I saw it first!" Slightly yelled back.

Soon the three Lost Boys came stumbling out of the bushes, all of them with their hands on the treasure chest Toodles had hidden.

"It doesn't matter!" Peter exclaimed. "Well done, all of you! You found the treasure!"

Immediately forgetting their squabble, the boys began cheering and jumping around. Sora couldn't help but smile.

"Well, what's inside?" Cubby asked, coming to a sudden halt. The others did the same, murmuring amongst themselves.

"Open it and find out!" Peter urged them, grinning. The Lost Boys began to cheer again, and even Sora peered over them, excited to see the results. He expected to see something pretty astounding, considering everything they had seen so far on the islands.

But the chest was not full of gold or jewels, as Sora had thought. Instead, there were a slew of toy swords, hand-made clothing, and dried flowers. Still, the Lost Boys couldn't have been much more enthusiastic. They were practically crawling all over each other to get at the stuff.

"What is all of this?" Sora asked, confused.

"This isn't treasure!" Donald shouted. Apparently he had been hoping for his fair share.

"Sure it is! It's what _we_ treasure!" Peter said, the grin on his face still bright. "And there's something in here for you, too, Sora."

"Th-there is? Really?" Sora looked from Peter to the chest, back to Peter. "Really?"

"Yeah, really! Take a look at this!"

Peter glided over to the chest and pulled out two wooden objects. It took Sora several moments to realize that what Peter was holding was two halves of the same wooden keyblade. The meaning was immediately significant.

"So _this _was Ven's…"

"Sure was! Somehow it got broken, but his friend Aqua said it didn't really matter," Peter explained. "Y'know, because our greatest treasures come from our hearts. We kept it anyway, but I don't think we really need it anymore."

"But what if Ven comes back?" Sora asked, trying to sound optimistic.

"I don't think he's going to anytime soon. After all, if you guys are looking for him, he must have REALLY gotten himself into some big trouble. I thought that there was nothing he couldn't handle, but I guess I was wrong, huh?"

Peter held out the fractured keyblade to Sora, who glanced at Donald and Goofy before carefully taking it.

"Thanks, Peter," Sora said, smiling. "Even though it's only one clue, it's still one clue closer to helping us find Ven and his friends."

"No problem, Sora!" Peter crossed his arms, grinning again. "After all, you came back like you said you would, and I wasn't expecting that! So I guess I had to pay you back somehow!"

Sora couldn't help but laugh, even if he did feel a bit insulted. He was so relieved that there was finally physical evidence they could work with.

"We'll try to come again," Sora said, his laughter fading. "Take care, Peter."

"You too, Sora! Try not to forget about us here, all right?"

"Sure thing!"

Turning back to his companions, Sora felt a sudden pang of sadness in his heart. It was so unusual that he wasn't quite sure how to explain the feeling to his friends. Instead he simply shook his head, then forced a smile.

"Let's go back to the ship," he said. "Donald, you think you can pilot this time? I want to take a look at this thing."

"Okay, but where are we headed?" the duck asked as the trio began to walk away.

"Well… We should probably take this back to Ten's lab for safe-keeping. It might help one of the others later on."

Donald and Goofy nodded in agreement, and so they walked back to their ship, one step closer to the answers they were seeking.


	14. XIV: No 1

XIV. No. 1

"C'mon, Riku, you just gotta believe in yourself," King Mickey repeated for what felt like the hundredth time to Riku. The teen paced the floor of the King's office, his heart pounding. "Things have changed since then. _You've_ changed since then."

"I know…" Riku muttered, clenching his teeth. But it was more complicated than that, at least to him.

Riku had known for a while now that he was going to have to face the darkness in his heart once again in order to make himself useful to their mission. Ansem had long been vanquished, and now Riku could control light and darkness interchangeably. But using his dark powers to access the dark realm was much easier said than done. Even if he could get them in, there was no guarantee he would be able to get them out.

"Riku, the darkness won't overtake you again," the King reassured him.

"How can you be so sure?" Riku shot back. "There's no way to know!"

"Yep, you're right! The only way to know is to try!" Mickey put his hands on his hips. "Don't you want to help your friends? They're counting on you!"

"That's what makes it worse," Riku mumbled under his breath. "All right, fine. Let's just do this. The sooner we find Aqua, the sooner we can leave."

"That's the spirit!"

Finally standing still, Riku closed his eyes. He lifted out his arm, holding his hand out in front of him. That power was still there, somewhere-the power to control the darkness around him and inside of him. He just needed to concentrate.

_I used to use the darkness for my own purposes,_ he thought as he slowly opened his heart to the powers inside of him. _But this is for my friends, and for anyone else who needs my help. This time is not about me_.

Suddenly Riku felt his body fill with energy, and with all of his focus he channeled it out of him. If this wasn't going to work, he had no other options.

"Good goin', Riku!" the King cried. Hesitating, Riku opened his eyes. A portal was swirling in front of them. "Let's get going!"

"Y-yeah," Riku murmured, somewhat relieved. So far, it had gone better than he had expected.

King Mickey led the way into the portal, but Riku felt familiar with it. Despite no longer having Ansem in his heart, the sensation of traveling by portal was exactly the same. Riku wasn't sure whether that was a sign of good things or not.

"Well, this must be it," the King said as they stepped out onto the soft grey sand.

"It is," Riku confirmed, looking around.

It hadn't been long at all since Riku had last been in the Dark Realm; that had actually worked to their advantage, since controlling where the portal led them required a visual image from the user. The sky was just as dark and cloudy as it had been when he and Sora had last visited. Even though it was gloomy, it wasn't an unpleasant place to be. Granted, it was lonely, but the water lapping against the shore was a calm and beautiful sound. It reminded Riku of home, and it made him anxious to return.

"Should we call out her name?" Riku wondered.

"Maybe we shouldn't," King Mickey replied. "We don't exactly know who all is here."

"Well, _I_ do."

Riku couldn't help but jump at the familiar voice. He whipped himself around, expecting to see Kairi standing behind him. But the person standing there was no one he knew. He couldn't even place a name. But she felt a little bit familiar to him.

"…You don't remember me at all, do you?" she asked, her bright blue eyes searching Riku's face.

"I…I can't say that I do, sorry," he said, gaining some of his confidence back. "You seem familiar, but that's it."

The girl chuckled quietly, lowering her gaze. "I thought so. Well, that's all right, I guess." She smiled at Riku and the King, a shy look on her face. "I didn't mean to frighten you, but I think I can help you. I know who you're looking for, and I can help you find her."

"You…do?" Riku asked. The girl nodded, her smile brightening. "Well, that's great. But first you need to tell us who you are, and why you're here."

"Ah, I…" The girl hesitated, tucking a lock of jet-black hair behind her ear. "Well, all right."

Still smiling shyly, the girl walked over to Riku. As she got closer, Riku realized how much she really looked like Kairi, but there was something different about her. Something strange…something…off.

"My name is Xion," the girl said. "Just like Nobodies, I was never supposed to exist. But because of Xemnas, I did. I am one of the most important parts of Sora's heart-part of the darkness."

"The darkness in Sora's heart?" King Mickey echoed.

"Part of it?" Riku said. Xion nodded, her face slowly growing more serious as Riku stared her down. "Part of it, indicating that there is another part of Sora's heart that resides in darkness."

"That is correct…and there is more beyond just that. If you want, I can explain on the way. But I really think time is of the essence, and Aqua has been waiting-"

"Hang on a second," Riku interrupted. Xion frowned, seeming a little irritated. "I think that you have more to explain than our walk to Aqua will allow. Tell me why you seem so damn familiar."

"…Fair enough." Xion crossed her arms, pursing her lips. "Xemnas created me from Sora's memories-mainly of Kairi. My physical appearance is completely manufactured. But the memories I hold are from Sora, and without me, Sora's heart would be incomplete. You may recall it took quite some time for Sora to wake up, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Riku said, nodding.

"It's because of me. I didn't know of my own purpose for a very long time, until after I met Roxas. Roxas and I…we are the two parts of Sora's heart that reside in darkness. It's because of Xemnas that we're split like this, but it is what it is."

"I see. So why are you here now?"

"That's the thing," Xion said, frowning. "Because I am part of the darkness in Sora's heart, I must stay here. It's my role. Roxas, however, stays with Sora because he is his Nobody. I… I'm just a puppet."

"Well, you're a useful puppet, and you're honest," Riku told her. "So that makes you a pretty decent character, am I right?"

Xion blushed a little, then shook her head.

"I'm admittedly a bit useless, but I will do what I can to help you and Sora. After all, there is more darkness in Sora's heart than what should belong to him.

"What?"

"Wait a second, Xion!" King Mickey said. "Are you trying to tell us that Sora has more darkness in his heart than anyone else?"

"That's correct-but it's not _his_ darkness," she replied. "You're also trying to locate a young man named Ventus, correct?" When the two nodded, she continued. "Ventus' heart rested within Sora's for a long time. And with Ventus' heart was Vanitas, the darkness of Ventus' heart."

"So you're saying…"

"Vanitas never left Sora's heart."

"Great," Riku muttered. "Xion, we know enough now. Take us to Aqua, please."

"Thank you for telling us all of this!" the King added as they hurried along.

"It's the least I can do," she insisted, glancing back at them. "You may not remember it, Riku, but you helped me once. Now it's my turn to help you."


	15. XV: One Third

XV. One Third

Riku had hesitated before finally following Xion; it wasn't that he didn't believe her, but that he was nervous of what was to come. The King seemed to have had the same nervousness about him.

"You _do_ realize how big this place is, right?" Xion commented as they walked together across the sand. "This is like its own world."

"So what makes you so sure you'll find Aqua so quickly?" Riku asked, skeptical as usual. Xion only laughed.

"Because I told her someone would be coming soon," she replied. "And she believed in me, despite the mistakes I've made in the past."

Riku chuckled, shaking his head.

"I'm still not so sure I understand who you are, or why you know me."

"You don't really have to, but if you want to know, I guess I can try to explain." Xion slowed her pace to walk next to Riku. "Like I said, I'm a puppet that Xemnas created. Sora's memories resonated inside of me, and without me, he couldn't awaken. My existence was based upon him, but even as a doll, there is a part of me that is strictly me, and that is the part of me that stands before you now."

"And the reason I don't remember you?"

"I was never supposed to exist."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't stop some people," Riku muttered, thinking of the countless Nobodies he had encountered in the last year.

"I didn't think we'd ever meet again, admittedly," Xion said. "But recently I sensed a change from the realm of light. Aqua and the others felt it, too."

"Whoa, hang on," Riku interrupted. "The others? You mean there's even _more_ people here?"

"Oh, well, of course. What did you expect?"

Frowning, Riku looked ahead of them. It seemed to be miles and miles of endless beach. What_ was_ he expecting? Of _course_ there were other people here. But the question was, who?

"Some people here haven't woken up yet, and some who come here will never wake up again," Xion continued, motioning around. "Not everyone who comes here comes fully awakened. You and the King are lucky."

"Lucky's not the word I would use, but I get your point," Riku replied, smirking. Xion smiled, but her eyes seemed troubled.

"I have to tell you something, Riku: if you ever want to come back here without the use of dark powers, it can be done," she said suddenly. Riku raised an eyebrow at her, but she continued. "But in order to do that, you have to-"

Xion was interrupted by the sight of two people-a man and a woman-sitting on the shoreline. Though Riku only recognized one of them at first, it wasn't hard to guess who the second one was. In front of them was a body washing up onto the shore. Neither of them ran to help; perhaps it was something they had seen many times before. But Riku, unable to stop his instincts, ran into the water.

"Riku, be careful!" Xion shouted after him. There wasn't much to worry about, though. The person-a girl perhaps a few years older than him-was truly unconcious and didn't seem to have any weapons. As Riku picked her up into his arms, he got a look at her face: it was incredibly and undeniably beautiful. Her brown hair stuck to her cheeks and forehead and neck, but she looked no worse for wear.

"You really should be careful doing things like that," Xion said as Riku walked onto the shore, setting the girl down in the sand. She remained motionless. "You never know who will come here."

"One of you I could have guessed," Riku said, turning to the man sitting on the shore. "It's good to see you again, Ansem."

"The pleasure is mine, Riku," Ansem the Wise replied, standing. His voice seemed hoarse, but still as deep and full of thought as it had before. "We've been waiting a long time."

"Says you," the woman said, a small smile on her face.

Riku stared at the woman, feeling a sense of familiarity about her. Her periwinkle blue hair was short and spiked around her face. Her eyes were unmistakably kind, but she had the look of someone who had wisdom beyond her years.

"You must be Aqua," Riku said quietly as the King walked over to his old friend to catch up. Aqua nodded, standing. "I'm sorry we took so long."

"I'm just glad you came," she responded, dusting the sand from her legs. "Just tell me that this won't be in vain."

"It won't be," Riku insisted, shaking his head. "We can do this, if we all work together."

Aqua smiled so brightly that Riku noticed tears come to her eyes. Her expression was full of emotion, and the very sight pulled at Riku's heartstrings enough to make him look away, back to Xion.

"Xion, we have to get going," he declared, and she nodded understandingly. "But you were about to tell me something about coming back?"

"Well…" Xion hesitated, but only for a brief moment. "If you should ever need to come back, you can do so without using darkness. I can help you come back here, if need be."

"But won't you have to stay here to do that?" Riku asked, and Xion nodded, frowning. "Are you really okay with that?"

"Xion, you are young, and still have a life to live," Ansem said suddenly. "I have had many chances to live in the realm of light, but I have failed again and again. Let _me_ take your place."

"I was never even supposed to exist," Xion argued. "_This_ is where I am most useful. Ansem the Wise, they will appreciate your help on the other side."

"But that's not really fair to you, is it?" Aqua said, crossing her arms.

"It's not, but it's all right." Xion held her head up, despite her falling expression. "If this is the only way I can help you, then this is what I have to do. Besides, _some_body has to take care of the newcomer." Xion motioned back to the brunette, who was still unconcious.

"Xion…" Riku murmured, but Xion shook her head, smiling.

"It's all right. I'll be here for you if you need a way in. But for now, you need a way out."

Riku sighed, then nodded. Holding out his hand, he summoned a portal, mentally vowing this would be the last time he would ever use his dark powers again.

"Hurry, everyone!" the King cried, rushing through the portal. Ansem the Wise followed him, then Aqua. Riku waited one more moment, looking back at Xion.

"How will I know how to contact you?" he asked. She just smiled.

"You'll know," she replied. "Now go, before I change my mind!"

Giving him a light shove, Xion pushed Riku through the portal, then watched it close before her.


	16. XVI: Six Two Six

XVI. Six Two Six

It had been several days since Sora and his friends had separated, but still the hero kept up his search, Donald and Goofy at his side the whole time. The only clue they had obtained the entire time, though, was Ven's shattered wooden keyblade. Sora didn't exactly know what it might come in handy for, but he figured Ten could tell them, and so he decided to hang on to it for the time being.

The next stop on their journey was actually another ship-and from the drawings Sora had, it was a ship unlike any he had seen before. It was estimated to be many times larger than his own ship, so Sora thought that it wouldn't be hard to find. But they had been flying for close to three hours, and there was no sign of the ship.

"Maybe the ship landed somewhere," Donald suggested at last.

"Like in a home base?" Sora said, tossing the possibility around. "Well, I guess it could've. But how are we supposed to know where that place is?"

"Well, what worlds are around here?" Goofy asked. "We could check each one real quick, and then leave if it's not right."

"It's not like we have any other ideas right now," Donald added. Sora sighed, defeated.

"You're right. Well, we'll just land on the closest world for now and hope for the best. That's all we can really do, right?"

As he prepared the ship for landing, Sora pursed his lips.

_Is everyone else having as much trouble as I am right now_? he wondered. _I feel like I'm failing them. Failing everyone. What am I doing wrong? What am I missing?_

"Sora, there's a world!" Goofy exclaimed, snapping Sora out of his thoughts. "Let's try it!"

"Here goes nothing!" Sora mumbled to himself.

Where they landed was unlike anyplace they'd been so far; in fact, the place it resembled the most was Destiny Islands. While this normally would have cheered Sora up, it instead made him a bit homesick.

"I have no idea where we are, but it sure is nice," Donald gawked. Sora nodded in agreement.

"But we stand out…a lot," he realized, looking around the area. They had landed on a beach, and while it was somewhat private, there were other people around. All of them were dark-skinned with black hair and were dressed in swim suits. Sora had never seen people quite like them before.

"You guys wait here," Sora told Donald and Goofy. "I'm gonna walk around a little bit and see if I can find out where we are."

Making his way across the beach, Sora watched the natives as they played in the water and laid out on the sand. He missed home, and watching these people made him want to drop everything and return.

Beyond the beach was a small town, not totally different from some of the ones in Destiny Islands. But once again, most of the people were dark-haired and dark-skinned and clad in beach clothing. Sora tried not to gawk, but the people of this world were admittedly quite beautiful.

"Oh!"

Nearly falling on his butt, Sora gasped as he ran into someone. He heard the sound of flowerpots smashing on the sidewalk.

"Oh no, I-I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed, dropping down to help scoop up the soil and flowers.

"It's all right," the person said, kneeling down across from him. It was a girl, and though her hair was black, she was not dark-skinned like the others. Her large, hazel eyes caught Sora's for a moment. "You're…not from around here, are you?"

"You're not, either," he retorted, getting nervous. The girl smiled, her face kind.

"I'm on vacation here, of course. Those flowers were my souvenirs, but I guess I bit off more than I could chew," she replied. "But how could I really help myself? Hawaii is so nice, isn't it?"

"H-Hawaii?" Sora repeated.

"Yeah, silly," the girl giggled. "Where we are right now. What, did you lose some of your memory when you bumped into me?"

"Heh, I-I guess I did." The girl laughed again, standing upright. Sora followed suit.

"You're a nice guy. My name's Nami. Don't worry about the flowers."

Before Sora could say anything else, the girl smiled once again and walked away. She disappeared into the crowds a moment later.

"Well, that's a start, at least," Sora said to himself. Turning around, he headed back to his companions, who were sprawled out in the sand. They were obviously enjoying their time off, and Sora suddenly felt guilty not only for ruining it now, but for dragging them along on this adventure in the first place.

"Welcome back, Sora!" Goofy said as Sora approached them. "Any luck findin' anything?"

"Kind of," Sora replied. "I at least know the name of where we are: Hawaii."

"How does _that_ help us?" Donald muttered, not opening his eyes.

"I don't know if it does. But I also learned that this is a place that a lot of people travel to. Meaning that…if there are a lot of people from different places here, one of them might know where to find that ship. Or better yet, where to find Ven."

Suddenly from out of the bushes came a strange-looking creature. It was blue, furry, and totally alien. Though it came out in a rush, teeth bared, upon seeing Sora, it stopped and became docile.

"So-ra?" it said, its voice groggy. Sora smiled.

"Stitch!" he exclaimed, catching the creature in his arms. "How ya been, buddy?"

"I help you!" Stitch said, jumping down to the sand.

"What? What do you mean?" Sora asked. "Do you know where we are?"

"Ih."

"You do?" Sora looked back at Donald and Goofy, who shrugged. "Well, we've got nothing to lose. Lead the way, Stitch!"


	17. XVII: Nineteen

XVII. Nineteen

Stitch's path led the trio of heroes up the streets of the downtown market area, through many crowds of people, and all the way to the top of a hill. There was a large house sitting there; it was oddly designed, as if parts of it had been rebuilt more recently than others. Was this Stitch's house?

_Surely he doesn't just live here by himself_, Sora thought as Stitch slowed his pace.

"Home," Stitch said, gesturing to the building.

"This is where you live?" Sora asked. Stitch nodded, walking to front door. Sora followed him blindly, not sure what else to do or say, when suddenly the front door burst open.

"I'll talk to you about it _later_, Nani!" a girl shouted over her shoulder. She had long, straight black hair and dark skin, like the rest of the people Sora had seen. "I've gotta go!"

The girl turned around and jumped upon seeing Sora and company, then calmed at seeing Stitch.

"What's going on, Stitch?" she asked, tilting her head. "Do you know these guys? Are they your friends or something?"

"Ih."

The girl stared at Sora, Donald, and Goofy, almost doubtingly. But after a few short moments, she smiled, her entire face lighting up.

"Well, hi!" she said. "I'm Lilo. Nice to meet you."

"I'm Sora, and they're Donald and Goofy. Uh, sorry to come unannounced, but we just got here and-"

"Don't worry about it," Lilo interrupted, waving her hand. "Ever since Stitch came here, we've gotten loads of strange visitors. You guys look the most normal out of all of them, to be honest." She laughed to herself, and Sora smiled in response. "Well, I gotta get to a meeting. Stitch, take care of them, okay?"

"Ih." Stitch scurried into the house, and Sora and company followed him.

"By the way, don't mind my sister!" Lilo shouted after them. "She's a little high-strung, but she's nice, so don't worry too much!"

At first, Sora didn't think to register Lilo's comment, until they entered the front room of the house. Upon seeing the strangers in her house, Nani screamed, jumping up from the couch.

"Who do you think you are?" she shrieked.

"Friends!" Stitch said, tugging on Nani's pant leg.

"W-We're not criminals or anything!" Sora added. "We're friends of Stitch, and he brought us here!"

"I…I'm sorry. I just panicked," she admitted, sitting back down. "Sorry to make such a crappy first impression. I'm Nani. Please, go easy on me." She smiled, but it looked more stressed than Lilo's grin had. "Over the past ten years, we've had a lot of random visitors here, and not all of them have been friendly."

"I understand," Sora said, nodding. "We'll make this quick."

"No, no-take your time. I have nothing against visitors, as long as you're coming in peace. Like I said, in ten years, we've had a pretty variable crowd."

Sora started to ask something about their group of visitors, but Stitch suddenly pulled on his leg, urging him to follow. Without another word, Sora smiled sympathetically and followed Stitch toward the staircase.

"Stitch, I have to ask you something important," he then said as they climbed the stairs. "It's about something that happened a long time ago. Do you-"

"Wait," Stitch interrupted. "I show you."

"All right," Sora replied impatiently. "But what are you going to show me?"

"Friends."

Sora paused, his heart rate suddenly increasing. _Friends_? Who else was waiting here that Sora hadn't met yet? Someone he knew? Or maybe someone he needed to know?

Stitch pushed open the door at the very top of the stairs; Sora assumed it to be Lilo's room. The walls were nearly covered in posters, mostly of a handsome man with gaudy clothes and strangely-styled black hair. There were books lying on the floor, and her desk was covered in notes.

"Wait here," Stitch commanded the trio, and they nodded, standing in the doorway of Lilo's cozy room. Stitch, on the other hand, ran over to one corner of the room, where a large trunk was sitting. Pushing the lid open, he began to dig through it, throwing aside things of no importance. He was obviously looking for something specific, which confused Sora even more.

_Didn't he tell me he was going to show me his friends_? Sora thought, frowning. _Well… Maybe it's something we need in order to meet them._

Suddenly, Stitch made a strange noise, as if speaking in his own alien language. But, when his emerged from the toy box, he was obviously pleased. Waving Sora over, he stamped his feet excitedly.

"I found them," he said as Sora hesitantly approached. "Friends."

"You… You found your friends?" Sora asked, disappointed. Obviously, nobody new had entered the room in the last few minutes. Stitch was holding something, though, and he seemed to have a reassuring attitude.

"Ih. Look, friends."

Stitch held out the object in his hands for Sora to see. Stunned, Sora's eyes widened, and he felt his heart leap once again. Sitting in the palms of Stitch's clawed hands was something very familiar to Sora. Though it differed in style and colors, he knew the design, and he knew what it was supposed to represent. Smiling, he held out Kairi's charm for Stitch to see. The two traded objects, and Sora got a chance to look over the star-shaped charm.

"Stitch, who gave you this?" Sora asked.

"I made it," Stitch said. "I made friends."

"You made friends?" Sora echoed, confused. "Who? Who are your friends? What are their names?"

"Terra…Aqua…Ven."

"Did they have charms like this, too?"

"Ih."

Pursing his lips, Sora nodded. Not unlike the bond between him and his friends, Terra, Aqua, and Ven had had an unbreakable connection.

"Thank you, Stitch," Sora finally said, trading back for his own keepsake. "That really helps us out a lot."

Stitch nodded, hugging Sora's leg. Sora reached down to pet Stitch; he noticed his hand was shaking.

"Well, that was a waste of time," Donald complained as they left Lilo's room.

"No, it wasn't," Sora insisted. "I learned something important just now: friendship gives us an unbreakable connection. Even though those three were separated, their bonds live on in others, like Stitch and Snow White…"

"And you," Goofy added.

"And me."


	18. XVIII: Divided by

XVIII. Divided by

The walk back to the beach seemed unexpectedly short to Sora; perhaps it was because his thought processes were zooming along at an all-time high. He was undeniably the link between these three keyblade wielders of the past. That wasn't even in question anymore. The real question was, what could he possibly do to help? He felt as though he had been put back at square one, and in a way, he had been.

"Don't get discouraged, Sora," Donald said, sensing his friend's exasperation. "We'll figure something out."

"Maybe we should go back to Ten's house," Goofy suggested. "She and Kairi might be back by now."

"I think that's the only thing we _can_ do," Sora admitted, sighing. "I get the feeling that I can't do anything about Ven without having help from Terra or Aqua first."

Donald and Goofy nodded understandingly, and Sora felt a little better. Though he didn't know what he was supposed to do in the end, he at least had one more step to take forward.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Donald and Goofy stopped and turned around, looking at Sora with curious expressions.

"What did you say, Sora?" Goofy asked.

"Huh?" Sora tilted his head, confused. "I didn't say anything, not just now."

"Oh…" Goofy looked at Donald. "Maybe we're both just hearin' things, Donald."

The three continued walking on, Sora watching Donald and Goofy curiously. He hadn't said anything; he hadn't even _heard_ anything. Were they playing a joke on him to cheer him up? If they were, it wasn't working at all.

Once again, Donald suddenly stopped, and Goofy did the same.

"This time I _know_ you said something!" Donald quacked, seeming more frustrated than angry. Goofy nodded in agreement, and Sora stood in place, stunned.

"Guys, if this is a joke, it's not funny," he said quietly.

"You're one to talk!"

"Sora, are you really not saying anything?" Goofy asked.

"No! Why would I lie?" Donald and Goofy exchanged glances; obviously there _was_ no reason. "What did you think I said?"

"…'Join with me,'" the two said in unison.

"…Okay, now I'm _really_ confused. I didn't hear anything at-"

Sora stopped mid-sentence abruptly; it felt as though he'd lost the ability to speak. When the brief feeling subsided, Donald and Goofy's faces were incredibly worried.

"This is really weird," Donald said.

"What? Why?" Sora asked, growing more anxious by the second.

"You just said something, but you didn't move your mouth," Goofy explained.

"I did…_what_?"

When he looked at Donald and Goofy, he saw that they were obviously at a loss for words. Sighing heavily, Sora closed his eyes, putting a hand on his forehead. He could feel himself getting a headache from all the confusion.

"Join with me."

Sora opened his eyes quickly.

"You said it again," Donald quacked excitedly.

"I heard it that time," Sora confirmed. "But I didn't say it. Somebody else said it."

"Who? It sounds just like you," Goofy said. Sora gritted his teeth, his headache only worsening.

"Let's hurry back to the ship. Maybe Ten will be able to help me."

When they boarded their gummi ship, Sora left Donald to piloting and retreated to the bathroom. Resting his hands on the sink counter, he sighed.

_Are we going insane_? Sora wondered, staring down at the drain.

"Sora."

Quickly lifting his head, Sora looked at his own reflection. He looked the same, but the voice that he had heard sounded so similar to his own.

"What's going on?" he mouthed.

"You've kept me and Ven waiting for so long," the voice said. "I've waited long enough. Now, join with me."

Shaking his head, Sora tried to block the voice out.

"I really must be going insane," he declared in a loud voice. But even his own perky voice sounded suspicious. "…Ten will know what to do, right?"

Sora looked back at his own reflection, and for a split second, he could have sworn he saw his eyes as a bright amber gold. But when he looked again, they were the same as always: a bright sapphire blue.

"I've never been this paranoid in my life," he muttered to himself as he left the restroom.

"Are you feeling all right, Sora?" Goofy asked as Sora sat in the open passenger seat.

"I'll be fine," Sora replied, giving a silly smile to lighten the mood. "Besides, it's not going to be anything we can't handle together, right?"

"All for one and one for all!" Donald quoted, and Sora's grin brightened.

Within minutes, the three were within landing distance of the Twilight Town port near YenSid's castle.

"Gawrsh, it sure does look bright in the distance!" Goofy commented. Donald nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, almost like…?"

Sora leaned forward to get a better view, and his heart sank.

"No…" he whispered.

Just a few meters ahead of them, YenSid's castle was burning brightly, lit up with flames from top to bottom.


	19. XIX: Rations

XIX. Rations

The heat from the flames was incredible, so much so that Sora thought that he might pass out just from standing nearby. Though it definitely wasn't the best decision to stand near the raging fire, Sora felt obligated to be there. After all, they had to find Yen Sid.

"HEY!" Sora shouted over the crackling of the flames, running closer to the tower. "Is anyone there?"

"Sora, be careful!" Donald quacked as Sora slowly stopped, less than a foot away from the edge of the conflagration.

"HEY!" Sora screamed again. He couldn't see anything past the orange and yellow flames. Hearing something loud above him, he immediately stepped back. Seconds later, a piece of the castle's wall fell to the spot where Sora had just been standing.

"It's too dangerous to be this close!" Donald shouted angrily as Goofy dragged Sora back.

"But…I don't understand…" Sora said quietly, lowering his head. "How could this have happened?"

"What's going on here?"

Somewhat relieved by the sound of such a familiar voice, Sora quickly turned to see YenSid standing behind them. His face was clouded by anger and surprise.

"YenSid!" Goofy exclaimed. He and Donald bowed quickly.

"Sir, we just came back to your castle like this!" Sora said, gesturing to the burning building. YenSid's wrinkled face darkened.

"It seems that the enemy is moving faster than we imagined," he said quietly, lowering his gaze.

"The enemy?" Sora echoed. "So you know who it is?"

"There are always those who will oppose the light-never forget this," YenSid declared in a loud voice, completely contrasting the voice he had just spoken in. "But the enemy this time, Sora, is closer than you might think."

Before Sora could ask him to elaborate, YenSid turned back toward the train, his face growing worried.

"I must check on Ten's lab as well," he said, walking away.

"We'll come with you!" Sora said, running after him. Donald and Goofy followed, left with no other choice but to watch the once-beautiful tower burn to the ground. As the train pulled away, the four watched as one of the uppermost parts of the tower crashed to the ground, sending up tongues of fire and sparks in every direction. Had it not been YenSid's home, it would have been a wondrous sight.

"I will not count what I have lost," YenSid said as Sora and his friends turned away from the windows. "Instead, I will be grateful for what little I still do have. Endings, after all, always come with some sort of reason."

Sora frowned, unable to come up with a comforting reply.

"Someday you will come to understand these things, too, Sora."

"I'm…not so sure," the teen admitted, slumping down in his seat. "I mean… I don't even understand myself now. Or the things that have already happened to me. I don't understand why I was the one chosen to be a hero."

"We were not meant to understand everything at once," YenSid told him. "If we did, there would be no joys in the mysteries of life. Everything serves to make us better or stronger, even those things warped by pain and sadness."

"That still doesn't make it OK."

Crossing his arms, Sora stared at his feet for the rest of the short ride; his gaze was immediately caught by the sight of bright light from behind him.

"Here too?" Donald quacked, sounding exasperated.

Sora said nothing as they exited the train to find Ten's lab also being consumed by flames. He could only grimace at what was before him. How had this happened? Who had done all of this?

"Join with me."

Sora shook his head, as if to knock the voice right out of his brain. He blinked slowly, and upon opening his eyes again, he saw a bright white light in front of him. Four figures appeared-two of which he recognized immediately.

"…R-Riku!" he shouted, running toward his best friend. The silver-haired teen turned to Sora. He was visibly panting, as if they had been running.

"S-Sora…" Riku gasped, doubling over a little bit.

"What's going on?" Sora asked, putting a hand on Riku's shoulder. "You OK?"

"Just… Just out of shape," he said with a smirk. His concern seemed to rest more on the fire. "What's going on here?"

"We don't know," Sora replied, frowning deeply. "YenSid's tower has been burned down, too."

"This is awful!" the King exclaimed, staring at Ten's lab. "All of her work…gone…"

"I hope Ten isn't in there," Sora said, the sudden thought coming to him. "If she is…"

"She shouldn't be," the third figure said. Blinking, Sora gasped quietly as he looked once again into the eyes of Ansem the Wise. "If Tenko had been here, she would never have let this happen. She would first destroy the rest of the world before letting anyone lay a hand on her years of research."

Although he appeared to be listening, in reality Sora only heard about half of what Ansem the Wise said after that. His attention instead was focused on the fourth figure-a young woman with periwinkle hair and serious but kind blue eyes.

"…You…must be Aqua," Sora said, unintentionally interrupting Ansem. Aqua smiled, nodding. "Wow. It's really nice to finally meet you and have you out here on our side."

"You're telling me!" she said with a good-natured laugh. "But this is definitely a hit to our side. We have to do something about this."

"We need to find Ten!" King Mickey declared. "She should know what's going on! And now that you're here with us, Aqua, maybe we can finally settle things for good!"

"Sounds like a plan!" Donald agreed. The others nodded, getting fired up again.

"But where do we start looking for her?" Riku asked. "She could be anywhere."

"We don't have any way of tracking Kairi, either," Sora realized, his smile fading.

"I think I know one place to look," Aqua said quietly. Though her face was determined, her eyes held a strange sadness, as if hiding things yet to be revealed.


	20. XX: Remainder

XX. Remainder

The eerie quiet of the Keyblade Graveyard meant nothing to Kairi, who had never even heard of the place before. But to Ten, it was only a reminder of her past, her daughter, and most of all, the things she regretted most.

"This is totally not what I was expecting," Kairi admitted. She tossed her head to fix her hair, which was blowing around her face gently. "Nobody's here."

"False," Ten responded, shaking her head. Her countless braids shook and swayed in the wind. "We'll find someone here. I'm sure of it."

The pair ended up repeating that conversation more than once as they walk through the silent rocky land. There didn't seem to be much around, save for dust, rocks, and fragments of things Kairi assumed to be keyblades and Ten assumed to be wielders.

"My, my, my," Ten said at one point, looking down at obvious leftovers from armor she had once crafted. "This wielder…I remember her."

"…This is disgusting," Kairi whispered, looking down at the empty pieces of armor.

"This is all that's left of her, that's what it is. She was just like you guys: young, brave, ready to defend those who she loved." Ten gave Kairi a sad smile. "I remember her well; she was engaged to a young man, but she was ready to fight. I designed this armor for her, but it…wasn't enough, apparently."

"Let's just move on," Kairi suggested, unnerved by Ten's story. Her level of discomfort was already high enough.

"You're right; we must hurry and find Terra."

"You really think he's here?"

"Well, yes, but not in the way _you_ might expect."

"Another set of empty armor?"

"You…might say that." Kairi cringed, but Ten didn't notice, and so they continued on. The rest of the walk was spent in silence, up until Kairi finally noticed the first sign of life.

"Ten, look over there!" she hissed, stopping in her tracks. Ten stopped abruptly as well, looking to where Kairi pointed. In the distance, there was a figure standing there. It was too far to tell if the person was actually a person or just a tall rock, but Ten had a feeling they had finally found who they were looking for.

"Carefully, Kairi," Ten warned her, and the two began to walk toward the figure.

As they approached, Ten could clearly make out the outline of an armored figure, apparently male and kneeling. He had his back to them, which only made Ten's caution grow. Would it really be as bad as she feared?

"Terra!" Kairi shouted, unable to stop herself. She wanted to see if it was really him. If it was, their journey was over, and she could be reunited with Sora and Riku once again. She was willing to take the risk to be together again.

Ten shushed Kairi quickly, her dread growing. At first, nothing happened, but slowly, the armored figure stood.

"Kairi, you really should not have done that," Ten murmured quietly, sounding alarmed.

"What? Why not?" Kairi argued. "We're here to help him, after all."

"But you don't understand, do you? This isn't quite him."

"What?"

Ten paused, watching the man in armor closely; he was completely still, so she took the chance to explain.

"This is just Terra's spirit," she whispered, barely audible above the wind, which had greatly picked up. "It's a mistake to approach him alone like this."

"We're not alone!" Kairi exclaimed. "We have each other. We can handle it!"

"You really suppose Sora and Riku have completed their tasks by now!"

"Yes, I believe it. I believe in both of them." Kairi summoned her keyblade. "We'll just distract him until they get here!"

Ten looked at Kairi with a mix of admiration and disbelief on her face as the teen walked toward Terra's armor.

_Either she is incredibly brave, or incredibly unintelligent_, Ten thought, cautiously following Kairi as she marched over to Terra.

"Terra!" Kairi called out, sounding confident and cheerful. "Terra, we're here to help you! Sorry it's taken so long, but we're finally here!"

Slowly, Terra turned to the pair. His keyblade was in his hand, but he seemed docile. When he spoke, it was though his voice was one with the air around them. He was obviously no longer completely human.

"Who…are you?" he asked. "Ven… Aqua…?"

"No, I'm Kairi," Kairi said, smiling. "And this is Ten. We're here to save you and your friends."

"…If you're not one of them…there's no way you can save me."

Before Kairi or Ten could say anything, they were met with a huge blast of wind. It hit them so hard that Ten nearly fell over, and Kairi actually did.

"W-wait, Terra!" Kairi cried out, but it was too late. This part of Terra was no longer completely human, and there was nothing like reason left within him.

"It's no use, Kairi," Ten said quickly, helping Kairi up. "We can't fight him like this. We've got to run!"

"But if we leave, we'll lose him again!" Kairi argued.

"And if we stay, we're done for." Ten pulled Kairi's arm, but the red-head stood firm.

"No. I won't leave him." Ten stared at Kairi, and she continued. "I can't just leave Terra here! We're all connected. I would be betraying not just Sora, but another part of me if I left now!"

Wrenching her arm away, Kairi summoned her keyblade.

"Kairi, no!" Ten shouted, her voice nearly lost to the wind.

"I'm not afraid!" Kairi exclaimed. "I said I would fight, too, and here I am! C'mon, Terra-you think you can take me?"

"_No_!" Ten shrieked, closing her eyes. "Don't do this! Don't do this, Aurae!"


	21. XXI: Twelve

XXI. Twelve

_I couldn't save you_.

Tenko's greatest pride was unmistakable for anyone who knew her. Though she was incredibly intelligent and had a wonderfully handsome husband, her most prized possession was not a possession-it was her daughter.

Tenko had married young, but not intentionally. In fact, in her mind she had never pictured herself married at all. She wanted to be an inventor, a scientist, an independent woman. The day she met her husband was a day of disappointment. It was an arranged marriage, for the sake of her in-laws, and while Tenko could never turn down a soul in need, the marriage intruded on her freedom.

However, in only a few months, Tenko had fallen for Raphael, and soon she wondered why she had ever opposed the idea of being together in the first place. A lot of people were surprised to learn that their marriage had initially been one arranged, since the two were practically inseparable.

Because she was so young, and so frail, nobody expected Tenko to be able to carry a child full term. The day Aurae was born, people thought Tenko would die. But both of them lived, and both were in good health. At first, Tenko had despised the idea of having a child-why change anything if she was happy as she was? But after Aurae came, Tenko couldn't imagine a life without her.

Aurae, like Tenko, was a small child, but her eyes held wisdom that impressed even her parents. Her small size inspired Tenko's inventions on a daily basis-all of them were meant to help her daughter with whatever she might need or face in the future. Aurae often watched her mother, and Tenko enjoyed every moment of it.

Unlike most children, Aurae grew up quickly and had started calling Tenko "mother" by the time she was eight. Also around this time, Aurae began to wander off on her own. Neither Raphael or Tenko understood it, but every so often, Aurae would leave the house at night. She didn't go far, only to the front yard, but she would stand and look up at the stars.

The day Aurae summoned her keyblade for the first time, everything changed.

She was only nine years old when it happened. Tenko wasn't witness to the first summoning, but literally seconds after, she went outside to check on Aurae, and the blade was in her hand.

"I'm not sure what it is, Mother," Aurae said before Tenko could even let out a scream. "It doesn't hurt, though. Don't worry."

Aurae's powers were kept suppressed for as long as possible. She was the first of her kind, and there was no one else they knew who'd had that type of experience. Tenko sought help quietly, but there was no one who understood her powers for a long time, until one day, by chance, she met Yensid.

At that time, Yensid was the only person in the universe who had mastered interspace travel, and the fact that he ran into Tenko and Aurae one day was mostly by chance, and somewhat by fate.

"You're not from around here," the eleven-year old Aurae had said, and Yensid had nodded. When he explained who he was, Tenko jumped at the opportunity. From that point on, things changed forever.

Aurae's gift was a special one, but it was also loaded with great responsibility. She would have to learn to wield it, in order to protect herself in times of danger. Tenko, concerned about these so-called battles, urged Yensid into revealing what he could.

"You will know when that time comes, the time to fight," he replied. Tenko's heart sank as she looked at her daughter, who sat straight up in her chair, as if proud and unafraid. Her childhood had been cut terribly short, but Aurae seemed ready.

"I will do what I can," Aurae declared, sounding like someone twice her age. Tenko grimaced. "If it is my job, then I will do it."

"How can I help?" Tenko blurted out before she could stop herself. But the words had already been said, so she continued. "I feel so helpless, but I really must do something to help. Don't you see, Sir Yensid? This is my daughter, my only child. I would do anything for her. Can I not take the blade in her stead?"

"The keyblade has already chosen her," Yensid answered. "She cannot go back now. It is impossible to escape one's fate."

With a burst of energy, Tenko stood up, her height not adding much, but the fierce glow in her eyes was enough.

"If we cannot avoid fate, then I will _change_ fate!" she exclaimed, her resolution building. "Even if I have to change it all by myself!"

From that day forward, Tenko committed herself to her inventions. Every day was spent trying to protect Aurae from anything that might come her way, and with each invention, Tenko felt more at ease. Though they were little things, it all was still helpful, and Tenko thought that if she kept such a pace, by the time Aurae would have to be put into danger, she would be well protected.

Her predictions were incorrect.

Only a year later, Aurae awoke in the middle of the night, feeling an urge to leave her home. Tenko was still awake at this point, and she did her best to comfort Aurae, but the child insisted that she be taken to Yensid. Tenko immediately obliged.

Upon arriving, Tenko and Aurae were greeted by Yensid and one other person. His name was Jiro, and he was another keyblade wielder. Standing tall at seventeen, Jiro's face was firm and brave, much like Aurae's. Neither person seemed surprised to see the twelve-year-old there.

"Much has happened tonight," Yensid said, frowning. "The time for battle has come upon us suddenly."

"Battle?" Tenko echoed. "But…she is just a child. What in the worlds has happened?"

"There is another wielder," Jiro replied. "But he is not like us. He wishes something terrible for the worlds. If he succeeds, he will strip all light and hope from the lands."

"Fighting…over the light?"

"That is correct," Yensid said, nodding once. "Aurae, you and Jiro are the only ones who can stop Hiko now. Do you accept this?"

"I cannot escape from my fate," Aurae answered solemnly, sounding years beyond her actual age. "If fate wills me to fight, then I must. Especially for the sake of those I want to protect."

"Aurae," Tenko interrupted. "Do you really mean this? Do you understand what you are agreeing to?"

"Yes, Mother. I do not mean to hurt you, but this is how I must protect you and Father."

_We don't need to be protected_! Ten wanted to shout, but something stopped her. Deep down, she knew that no matter what she said, Aurae would not change her mind.

And so it was. Both Aurae and Jiro engaged Hiko in battle upon arriving at the Keyblade Graveyard, but neither were even close to his strength and skill level. Hiko was the same age as Jiro, but he had been the first of the three to receive the keyblade; in other words, he was the first Keyblade wielder of all time. But his heart had become warped, and instead of relying on the light around him, he allowed darkness to be bred in his heart.

Without telling Aurae or Yensid, Ten had also travelled to the Keyblade Graveyard in hopes to save her daughter. But by the time she had arrived, Hiko had already killed Jiro, and Aurae's strength was all but lost.

"You are just a child," Hiko told Aurae, who was knelt on the ground, defeated. "You have no hope of defeating me, or even preventing darkness from entering the worlds."

"Maybe not," Aurae said quietly, looking up at her opponent for what she knew would be the last time. "But even if I cannot defeat you, someone will one day eliminate you. This I know for certain."

Hiko simply laughed, and without any further conversation, he drove his keyblade through Aurae's chest just as Tenko arrived on the scene. Startled by Tenko's scream, Hiko immediately withdrew his blade and escaped into darkness.

Yensid eventually caught on to Tenko's venture, and in the end, he brought both Aurae's lifeless body and the emotionally distraught Tenko back to Twilight Town where Raphael had been waiting. Upon seeing his daughter, the young man broke down as well; the next day, he too was lifeless. In a matter of hours, Tenko had lost the two most important people in her life.

_Aurae, I failed you,_ Tenko thought as she wept alone her now empty home. _I am your mother, I was supposed to protect you. But I couldn't. I couldn't save you. Even though I loved you more than anything or anyone. What am I even good for, if I can't help anyone!_

Letting out a heartfelt cry, Tenko rushed into the kitchen and grabbed a knife from the drawer.

_I couldn't save you. It's a crime I must atone for, _she told herself as she drove the knife into her chest.

Tenko wasn't sure what death was supposed to be like, but she knew that with a knife in her chest, she should have at least felt pain. But there wasn't any pain, none at all, nor was there any blood. She was able to pull the knife cleanly out of her chest, and the stab wound was nonexistent.

From that moment on, Tenko changed. She had become cursed by her own obsession to help those who could not be helped. For the rest of her life, she was destined to help every keyblade wielder to come until satisfied. Countless generations had already passed, and yet Ten remained stuck in her youth with no sign of change approaching.


	22. XXII: Two Thirds

XXII. Two Thirds

Aqua was less than thrilled to be returning to the Keyblade Graveyard, even after a decade of being away. It had been the source of her nightmares since those days, and even though the area was empty when they arrived, she still felt uneasy, and with good reason.

"It's so quiet," Sora commented when they stepped out onto the rocky surface. "Are you sure about this, Aqua?"

"I know we'll find something here," she said confidently. "I can feel it."

"Something about the air does feel a bit off," Riku admitted, frowning.

"I agree," Aqua confirmed. "Though we're alone, the atmosphere is disturbed."

The group stood in silence for a few moments, each of them trying to figure out where to begin on their exploration of this giant land. Between the five of them (Donald and Goofy had stayed behind to clean up the mess from the fire), they all had differing ideas. Nobody, however, was communicating any of them.

Sora was about to finally speak up, when suddenly a figure in the distance caught his attention. At first, he thought it might be Ten or Kairi, since it appeared to be a female, but as the person approached, he saw that it was neither of his friends. Yet the girl was not unfamiliar to Sora; he recognized her right away, and he was the only one of the group who could.

"Aurae!" he shouted, running toward the girl. His friends stared in confusion at the scene.

"Who is that, Sora?" Riku asked. His question brought Sora a little relief, since it meant he wasn't seeing things.

"It's Ten's daughter," he replied, turning back to Riku. "Her name is Aurae."

"Aurae?" King Mickey repeated. "She died a long time ago, Sora."

"I know, Your Majesty, but you see her too, don't you?"

Mickey nodded, and Sora smiled, turning back to Aurae. Now that she was closer, Sora could see quite clearly that she was no longer human, but only present in spirit. Still, he knew she was there to help them. He just sensed it somewhere deep in his heart.

"Aurae, please help us," he said. "Can you tell us where we should go?"

She nodded, smiling. Her face seemed to reflect an adult more than a child, but the armor she was wearing seemed too big for her small body. As relieved as he was to see her, Sora couldn't help but feel pity for her having lost her childhood so soon.

Aurae waved her hand at the group, motioning for them to follow her. She then quickly turned and floated away; the party followed her hurried pace eagerly, hoping to find something worthwhile ahead.

"If she died so long ago, why is her spirit still lingering here?" King Mickey wondered out loud. "She should be resting peacefully, right?"

"Perhaps there is something yet to be accomplished that troubles her," Ansem the Wise answered in a quiet voice. "And perhaps that very thing is what we ourselves now travel toward."

"I think you're right, Ansem," Aqua said, nodding. "It would only make sense, considering how long Ten has been alive."

"Do _you_ know how she's lived this long, Aqua?" Riku asked.

"No, I'm really not sure. But I figure that must have a reason, too."

"No one would truly want or need immortality unless there was something that person wanted desperately to accomplish," Ansem added, nodding in agreement.

"They must be connected, then, their reasons," Mickey said.

Sora had been listening to their conversation in silence, concentrating more on following Aurae and looking for signs of life ahead. But he, too, felt that there must be a connection between Aurae's lingering spirit and Ten's everlasting youth. Sora had read about Aurae's death; he knew that she had died at the hands of another wielder named Hiko, but how did that affect Ten? Was it grief keeping her alive? Was that even possible?

"Ah, I see something ahead," Aqua said, her voice trembling. "There are people down there."

Sure enough, the party could see three figures just beyond the edge of the cliff they were standing on. Sora recognized Kairi as one of them right away, and he was able to quickly deduce that Ten was another. The third was clad in bronze metal armor, and though the face was not visible, Sora could tell by the build that it was a man.

Though Sora barely even hesitated to jump to their aid, Aqua beat him to it. Without a word, she practically launched herself off of the cliff.

"Terra!" she screamed when she reached the ground. Sora, stunned, hopped down with Riku right behind him. "_Terra!"_

Aqua's voice echoed in the air; there was so much power behind it that nearly everyone stopped to look at her. Sora wished he could see her face, or even the face of Terra, who had lowered his keyblade.

"Aqua," he said, his voice carried by the wind.

"Terra, it's me," she said, her voice a mix of emotions. "I'm sorry I took so long."

"…You came."

Aqua ran over to Terra, who collapsed to his knees, the keyblade in his hand disappearing.

"Terra, I-"

"Don't come near me!" he shouted. Sora noticed that he could hear Terra's voice quite clearly, despite the distance, and he wondered how it was possible. Literally seconds later, Terra's body completely broke apart, the pieces of his armor falling into a pile at Aqua's feet.

"Terra!" she shrieked.

"Don't worry, Aqua." Terra's voice came through the air once again. "I'm still hanging on. Master Xehanort still has my body, but he can't shake my spirit."

"We'll get your body back!" Kairi shouted into the air. "We'll all help you!"

"Aqua…I believe in them, and in you."

"I should have stopped this from the start!" Aqua exclaimed.

"And I should have listened. But that's passed us by. You have to get my body back. And Ven…where is he?"

"I…I don't know anymore, Terra."

"We'll find him, too!" Sora jumped in. "Don't worry. We'll set things right!"

"…I'm glad."

With a large gust of wind, Terra's armor disappeared like sand, and his voice faded. The group gathered together, each one of them with a new look of determination on his or her face.

"We must go to the Land of Departure," Aqua declared. "That's where I left Ven's body. He should still be there somewhere!"

"Then let's go!" King Mickey exclaimed.

"Aqua, you'll have to lead the way," Sora said. "Not all of us know where that is."

"I can do that. Just promise that you can keep up!"


	23. XXIII: Zero

XXIII. Zero

When Aqua had performed the changing ritual that fateful day, she had done so with the intention that Ventus would remain safe forever, no matter what happened. She knew that, even if someone _had_ stumbled across the old castle, they would never find Ven's sleeping body. However, in doing this, she had forgotten that she was also included in this. After having left him, he was now hidden to her, also.

Aqua had realized this on the flight over, but she had kept it to herself for the time being. She didn't want the others to think she had been irresponsible. But when they arrived to the Land of Departure, she saw the state of the castle, and immediately she feared the worst.

"Wait…what is this place?" Sora asked, his voice quiet. "Have we…been here before? Or something?"

"This is Castle Oblivion," Riku replied. "You've been here before, and I have, too, but…"

"Golly, it looks like someone set it on fire!" King Mickey exclaimed. Ansem the Wise nodded.

"Castle Oblivion?" Aqua said, whirling around. "What are you talking about? This is the Land of Departure. I used to _live_ in this place!"

"Organization XIII found this castle a while ago," Ansem told her. "And since then, they've been using it as a sort of second base. Someone must have tried to destroy whatever was left in there."

"He almost did it, too," Riku commented. Indeed, a large part of the castle was blackened from what appeared to have been a raging fire.

"Ven…" Aqua hung her head, her spirits obviously low.

"Don't worry, Aqua." Sora put a hand on the woman's shoulder, smiling. "Ven's OK. I think I would feel it if something had happened."

Aqua gave Sora a soft, hopeful smile, then turned back to the castle.

"I must find Ven," she declared, marching toward the ruins. The others followed her; Ten brought up the rear with Sora and Riku.

"Are you all right?" Riku asked Ten, who nodded once.

"Terra is beyond saving as he is right now," she told the pair. "But with Aqua here, we will be able to set things right, as long as the odds fall in our favor."

"The 'odds'?" Sora repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"No matter what you believe your destiny to be, luck always has a say in the matter."

Exchanging worried looks, Sora and Riku grimaced, wondering if they would come to know the true meaning of Ten's words inside the castle ruins.

The main floor of the castle seemed to be undamaged; whatever the flames had consumed, it had been in the upper levels. Still, Aqua's level of worry seemed unchanged as they walked through the door.

"…This place feels so familiar," Sora said quietly. "Why? Riku, you said I've been here before? Why don't I remember?"

"…That's something you need to ask yourself, Sora," Riku replied, avoiding the steady gaze of his best friend.

"I understand why," Kairi said suddenly. Everyone turned to look at her; it was the first time she had spoken up in a while. "But I don't understand _why_ I understand."

"It was my doing, I'm afraid."

The voice came from Kairi, but it was not Kairi's voice. Startled, Kairi placed a hand to her forehead.

"Huh?" she breathed, her blue eyes wide.

"It's me again."

As if walking out of Kairi's body, a girl with long blonde hair came into sight. She smiled gently at the group, then her eyes locked on Sora's.

"Namine," Riku murmured. "…Long time no see."

"I'm…sorry." Namine looked away quickly. "I caused a lot of problems for you all in this place. Though it was a long time ago, it still affects you even now, Sora."

"What are you talking about?" Sora asked, puzzled. He remembered seeing Namine once before, but he didn't know why she seemed so familiar to him.

"I damaged your memories, Sora. You don't remember meeting me, but we have met before. In this castle, the Organization used me to bring you into their grasp. I was forced to alter your memories; because of my connection with Kairi, it was easy for me. But you've been set right, at least as far as your memories go."

"But there are still things you've forgotten."

Suddenly, but not surprisingly, a blonde teenage boy walked from Sora as Namine had from Kairi. He stood next to Namine, facing Sora.

"Roxas," Sora said, feeling a little more confident.

"Sora, there are still so many things you don't know," Roxas told him.

"Things I don't know?"

"It's because you're the connection."

"The connection?" Sora had heard people call him that before, but never before had it been explained to him.

"You are the connection," Namine repeated, nodding. "Your heart is one that can connect other hearts. Your power goes beyond the keyblade. But now, you must begin to let those connections go free."

"How do I do that? I barely even understand what you're talking about!" Sora yelled, growing frustrated.

"Sora, when you were a child, Ventus' heart came to rest within yours," Roxas explained. "His presence has affected you through the years-even regarding me. Now, Ventus is ready to be freed, but along with freeing him, you will be setting loose another threat."

"Vanitas," Aqua said suddenly, her eyes narrowing.

"Yes," Namine confirmed. "When Ventus' heart is released from you, Sora, Vanitas will also be released. He is the darkness in Ventus' heart. I don't claim to know his intentions, but you must be ready for him."

Sora said nothing; what was there to say? He was simply overwhelmed. Ventus, Vanitas, Roxas, Namine…all of these people that he had connections to…what roles were they really there to play? Sora wasn't sure at all; it was all happening too fast for him to understand.

"Wait, Namine," Ten said, interrupting the conversation. "You're saying that Vanitas is darkness in human form, right?"

"I suppose that's another way of putting it," she responded.

"If Sora is holding this particular connection to the darkness in his heart as well, could it be that he is holding _other_ connections to the darkness?"

"That could be true," Roxas admitted. "I, after all, am a being born of darkness. But if Vanitas is there, there could be even deeper connections none of us realize."

Ten said nothing to this reply, but her gaze turned to Sora. She stared at him, her green eyes completely unreadable. Sora, growing worried, turned to Namine and Roxas once again for answers.

"Where can I free Ven?" Sora asked. "Do you know?"

"The truth is, I'm not sure," Roxas said. He looked and Namine, and she shook her head, frowning. "There's really no way to know for sure."

"You might find answers with another," Namine added, sounding hesitant. "If you can find Master Xehanort-"

"It was my intention from the beginning to find him and defeat him!" Aqua exclaimed, growing anxious. "Do you know where he is?"

"The Castle That Never Was is your best bet," Roxas replied, sounding confident. "Darkness has gathered there again, despite the Organization being destroyed."

"We'll go there, then!" Sora said. "Let's just settle this!"

The others nodded in agreement, and despite his confidence, Sora still felt a pull away from his destiny. There was something about this that greatly troubled him. Even as Roxas and Namine disappeared, he still felt uneasy. Glancing to the side, he noticed Ten once again; her gaze had not shifted from him since she last spoke. There were tears in her eyes.


	24. XXIV: Negative

XXIV. Negative

For the first time in a while, Sora felt that he actually had an advantage over Aqua's realm of knowledge in what was going on. She had no knowledge of The World That Never was, nor the Castle, so once again Sora was left to be in charge.

"Sora, how are you doing?" Kairi asked him, sitting in the pilot's seat next to him. "I feel like I haven't talked to you in forever."

"Yeah, I know…" Sora shook his head. "This has gotten so complicated. We don't even know what we're doing. We could be walking right into a trap and wouldn't even know it at this rate."

"I know; it's definitely concerning." Kairi smiled sadly. "But that doesn't answer my question."

"Huh?"

"How are you?"

Realizing what she meant, Sora exhaled, relaxing his shoulders. He had been so tense lately, it almost felt out of place to relax.

"Tired," he finally replied. "I feel drained."

Kairi's smile wavered. "I can kind of tell," she admitted. "Don't worry. We'll fix this."

"Yeah, we all keep saying that, but who really knows?"

"We will, I promise. We've stuck together this long, right?" When Sora didn't respond, Kairi repeated, "Right?"

"…"

"…Well…if _you_ don't even believe in yourself, what are the rest of us to do?"

Sighing, Kairi stood and walked away, leaving Sora in the midst of contemplation.

Before long, the party was standing in the outer city limits of The World That Never Was, staring up at the dark night sky. Sora could hear thunder rolling in the distance, but a storm was the least of his concern.

"Stick together, fellas!" Mickey called out to the group, but Sora felt distracted by simply being in this place again. He gradually fell to the back of the party, gazing up at the buildings. It was as if he was searching for a specific memory.

The sense of familiarity loomed in Sora's mind as the group proceeded through the dark streets, no enemies or threats in sight. At first, he felt inexplicably sad. He wondered if what he was feeling was related to Roxas' memories. But then, when they reached the large tower, Sora felt the feeling again, but with more urgency.

"Guys," he said, his voice unusually timid. No one heard him, and so they kept walking. Sora stood still beneath the shadow of the tower. He remembered meeting Roxas for the first time there, but that was a different kind of experience. "Guys, wait!"

"It's all right, Sora."

The voice Sora heard was a familiar one, and when the teen turned around, he expected to see Roxas standing there. But instead, there was another young man in his place. He resembled Roxas greatly, but there was a strange and passive light to his eyes, and his face seemed to glow with compassion.

"…Ventus?" Sora murmured, taking a step toward him. The blonde laughed, youthful as ever.

"You can call me Ven," Ven said, grinning. "It's been a long time since we last spoke, Sora. But it's almost time to settle this all for good. By now, you must know…you're the connection." When Sora nodded, Ven continued. "It's almost time for you to let go of all of these bonds. You have a lot within you, some of it you don't even know about."

"How do I let go, though?" Sora asked. "I barely even _get_ what's going on. And yet somehow I'm supposed to free you or something?"

"You'll know when the time comes. I know that sounds vague, but the enemy will provide the opportunity."

"The enemy? D'you mean Master Xehanort?"

Just as Ven began to respond, his image began to become distorted.

"Ven!"

"What a fool, thinking he could exist separately from me, even for a moment."

His head immediately aching with a great pain, Sora doubled over, gasping. He knew that voice from only one other thing:

"Join with me."

"Vanitas!" Sora exclaimed, straightening himself up in protest.

"Vanitas, I know that you are a part of me," Ven's fading figure stated. "But neither of us belong to Sora."

"For now."

"Sora!"

Relieved to hear another voice, Sora turned to see Aqua running toward him.

"Aqua!" he called back, standing strong.

"Sora, what happened? We thought you were kidnapped or something," she said, her face worried. "Did you see something or someone suspicious?"

"Uh…kind of."

"Kind of?"

Sora explained to Aqua what he had seen and heard, and what he had been hearing for the past couple of weeks. She was practically a stranger to him, but he felt comfortable telling her everything. For some reason, he felt that she understood, despite the growing look of concern written clearly on her face.

"Sora…we really should hurry," Aqua said after Sora had finished. "I don't know exactly where to go in this castle, but if you have ANY ideas, we should follow your gut on this. At first I wasn't sure, but after what you just said, it seems like we're running out of time."


	25. XXV: Three Sixty

XXV. Three Sixty

_I feel like we're chasing nothing_, Riku thought to himself as he and the others proceeded through The Castle That Never Was. Upon arriving, they had all decided it would be best to stick together for fear of endangering each other by splitting up. They were quite conspicuous, and if anyone had wanted to avoid them, it wouldn't have been a difficult task in the least.

Though he was far from unguarded, Riku's mind was still distracted with thoughts of the Dark Realm and Xion, the girl who had helped him there. She seemed incredibly familiar; he knew part of it was that she belonged somewhere in the deepest parts of his memories. But he also knew that she reminded him very much so of Kairi, and even more of Namine.

However, she had mentioned more than once that she was part of the darkness in Sora's heart. Would there ever be a way to release her?

_Why am I thinking of that now_? Riku wondered, shaking his head a bit. _It's not like she can help us. Besides, Aqua is here now. _

Having Aqua with them was a definite advantage; it gave them one more perspective to use, and one more opinion to fall upon in times of confusion. Even still, they had no _true_ sense of direction. At least, Riku didn't.

Despite this, Riku could feel the ominous atmosphere intensify as they headed deeper into the castle. To him, it meant they were headed in the right direction.

"I've never been to this part of the castle before," Sora admitted at one point. Riku stopped, then realized that he, too, had no idea where they were.

"We are near a room where the Organization used to meet in conference," Ansem stated. "Perhaps there we will find a clue."

"I'm tired of clues," Kairi said. "We've been running around all over the place and we _still_ haven't found a way to save Ven or Terra, or help Sora either!"

"Let's just try it," Mickey said. "If there's nothing there, we'll keep looking."

Without any more protesting, the group followed Ansem to a large, white door. It opened slowly, and the aura of the room inside was one of unmistakable tension.

"Finally, you've arrived. Welcome, chosen Keyblade Masters."

Riku, along with the others, looked up into the room. It was small and circular, filled with tall white chairs; all of said chairs were empty, save for the one directly in front of them. The man sitting there was old, bald, and well-dressed. He was also staring intently at them, with glowing orange eyes that were noticeable even from far away.

"Xehanort!" Aqua screamed, taking a firm step forward. Riku saw Ten gently grab Aqua's wrist, as if to hold her back.

"Yes, it's been quite a while, hasn't it, Aqua? Oh, forgive me. It's _Master_ Aqua now, isn't it?" Xehanort laughed to himself. "But anyway, you've all finally arrived. I've been waiting quite a while now. Don't you know it's rude to leave people in wait for a decade?"

"What do you really want?" Sora asked, stepping forward next to Aqua.

"What I seek, Sora, is to forge the ultimate keyblade so that I may remake all of these worlds to my liking. Simple, isn't it? Yet, in order to reach my goal, I will need your cooperation."

"Who cares what you want?" Ten shouted, practically snarling. "Haven't you destroyed enough in your lifetime?"

"From destruction comes rebirth! You of all people should know this best, dear Tenko." Master Xehanort shook his head slowly. "But I see that words by themselves will not convince you. Come now, let us discuss this in a more appropriate setting."

In an instant, Master Xehanort raised his hands, and the group was immediately surrounded by darkness. Seconds later, the blackness cleared, and they were standing in a new room, one that no one recognized but one.

"The Chamber of Repose!" Ten cried, gasping. "You really did find it!"

"Indeed," Master Xehanort replied, nodding. "But alas, I still have yet to find its brother, a room created by a fellow Keyblade master." The old man turned his gaze on Aqua, whose eyes had grown wide in realization. "In order to complete my task, I must find that room. And you, Master Aqua, will tell me where I may find it."

"I…don't know where it is, either," she admitted. "But…even if I did, I would never tell you!"

"You _lie_!" Holding out his hand, Master Xehanort suddenly sent Aqua flying across the room. She groaned as she stood.

"How…?"

"I suppose you might remember leaving this behind?" Waving his hand, Xehanort summoned forth Aqua's old armor and keyblade.

"I…" Clenching her teeth, Aqua held out her hand, her new keyblade coming to hand. "Even if I am to save Terra, _this_ is something I don't need anymore!"

Swinging her keyblade hard, she struck the armor, and it collapsed.

"I have begun anew," she stated. "You may have control of Terra right now, but that will be the last head you touch, Xehanort!"

"And she doesn't have to do it alone!" Sora shouted, summoning his keyblade. "She has us to help her!"

Master Xehanort turned and looked at Sora; his intent gaze worried Riku, and silently the teen summoned his own keyblade to his side.

"Sora… I had almost forgotten you were here with us," Master Xehanort murmured. "I had almost forgotten-there is a darkness that lingers even in your heart. A darkness I _need_."

Sora noticeably stiffened, but Riku and Kairi both stepped up to his side, keyblades in hand.

"In fact, even you are still of use to me," Master Xehanort then said, looking at Ten. The woman stared back, her normally large green eyes narrowed. Her entire stance was that of preparedness and ferocity. "Tell me, Tenko-what has it been like? Immortal for so long, due to the darkness in your own heart?"

Tenko said nothing, though all eyes were now on her. The truth of her immortality revealed, the party stood in shock, unable to come with what to do or say. They had trusted her thus far-had they been misled this whole time?

"The darkness that poisons me even now will be destroyed one day," Ten replied, her head held high. "And I will welcome that ending with open arms!" She held out her hand to Master Xehanort. "So come, do your worst! In the end, all darkness returns from whence it came!"

"She's right!" Sora exclaimed, also holding out his hand. "Though there is darkness in every heart, a light will always shine from within!"

A sudden flash of light filled the area, and when it faded, both Sora and Ten stood holding keyblades-Sora's white, and Ten's black.

"Your power is great," Master Xehanort declared. "But against the darkness I have come to wield, it will cease to exist!"


	26. XXVI: One on One

XXVI. One on One

Ten's head was simply spinning. A keyblade, a real one, had somehow manifested itself into her hands. How had this come to pass…? What was her fate in all of this?

_I must help these people_! she thought, glaring at Master Xehanort. _I must do what I can_! _But…I don't know how to use this thing_!

With as much strength as she could muster, Ten swung the keyblade once, pointing it at Master Xehanort. Even with such a simple gesture, something began to happen. Xehanort's body glowed with a dark aura, and suddenly figures began to split from his body. One appeared before Riku, one before Kairi, one before Aqua, and one before Ten herself. At the same time, from Sora's body the same thing began to happen, but only one other figure appeared-it was that of Vanitas.

"Wh-what did I-?" Ten gasped, staring at the blade in her hand.

"Fascinating. Your keyblade has its own unique power," Ansem the Wise said, staring in awe at the glowing black blade.

The deed she had performed only held her attention for a brief moment, though; Ten soon became aware of who she had summoned into the room.

Before Riku stood a familiar adversary, one with whom he had fought since the beginning of their adventures. His orange eyes glowing with hatred, Xehanort's Heartless towered over Riku even now. The teen gritted his teeth, immediately getting into a fighting stance.

"Since the beginning we've fought," the Heartless said, his shadow appearing behind him. "It would be far easier for you to submit, Riku."

"Yeah, well, in case you haven't noticed, I never do things the easy way," Riku replied, smirking with confidence.

In front of Kairi was another familiar being, another part of Master Xehanort's soul that he had split to become more powerful. Xemnas, dressed as usual in the Organization's robe, stared down at Kairi, whose gaze did not waver.

"You again?" she said, sticking her nose up in the air. "I've changed since then, you know. You don't scare me anymore!"

"That is your gravest mistake," Xemnas declared, summoning his weapon to his side.

Before Aqua stood the most heart-breaking sight of all, one that Ten would have never meant to summon on purpose. Terra, his body obviously still possessed by Master Xehanort, stared Aqua down.

"Terra," Aqua whispered. Ten could see that she was shaking.

"…" Terra said nothing; how could he? His free will had been taken a long time ago.

"Don't worry, Terra." Aqua held out her hand, but Terra knocked it away, summoning his keyblade. "…I'll free you. I'll free you if it's the last thing I do!"

Master Xehanort himself came to King Mickey and Ansem the Wise. He turned to the latter, giving him a crooked smile.

"You reek of the darkness," he told the scientist. Ansem only laughed.

"I have you to thank for that," he replied.

"Master Xehanort!" King Mickey shouted, making his presence known. "You will pay for the harm you have done to our worlds!"

"Perhaps one day. But today will not be that day."

Meanwhile, across the room, Sora and Vanitas stood face to face.

"You owe me a lot, Sora," Vantias was saying, laughing through his mask. "And I don't consider fighting me a way of payback."

"I don't owe you anything," Sora countered, glaring at the being before him.

"Well, maybe not from your personality. But you do owe me for giving you my dashing good looks."

"What are you-" Sora's mouth snapped shut as Vanitas removed his mask entirely, revealing a face that looked exactly like Sora's. "How-?"

"Join with me, Sora," Vanitas said, holding out his hand. "We were destined to be together, from the very beginning of your life."

"N-no." Sora shook his head quickly. "Th-that can't be true!"

Though she was surrounded by many distractions, Ten's gaze soon came to meet the young man in front of her. He had light grey hair, and at a glance, he looked like he could have been related to Ten. But his black eyes were unforgiving, and the grin spread across his lips showed nothing but hatred and spite.

"You," Ten growled, her anger building. She had never expected to see him again.

"I remember you," he said with a wicked laugh. "You are Aurae's mother, correct? It's been a long time. Several hundred years? And yet you still live? How in the worlds have you managed that?" He laughed again. "Well, no matter. I will end it here in one blow, just as I did with your daughter."

The young man went in to strike at Ten, but she quickly blocked him with her own keyblade.

"Surprising," he said, pulling away. "You wish to put up a fight? Your daughter is already lost. What more do you have to fight for?"

"As you can see, I do not stand alone in this room," Ten replied, standing her ground. "And, as you never were able to do, I stand on the side of light. No matter the age or circumstances, the light will always prevail over the darkness!"

"You are a great fool."

"Then we as fools are evenly matched. Do your worst, Hiko-if you can manage it!"


	27. XXVII: Parts of Thirteen

XXVII. Parts of Thirteen

Though this was her first real fight with the keyblade, Kairi stood unafraid before Xemnas. She was well aware that he was powerful, possibly more powerful than her. But she was a wielder of the light, something Xemnas' power would never be able to match.

However, Kairi was not a physically strong person, and soon Xemnas strikes had caught up to her.

_I can't keep relying on others forever_, Kairi told herself with a side-glance to Sora and Riku, who were equally occupied in their own struggles. _At some point, they won't be there anymore. I have to learn how to rely on myself and my own power_.

Lifting her keyblade to block an attack from Xemnas, Kairi exhaled sharply.

_Yes, this is my power. No one else has this life but me. I have to use it accordingly._

"Getting tired, child?" Xemnas asked, knocking Kairi to the ground. She grunted, unharmed but admittedly exhausted.

_How am I going to do this, though?_ she wondered honestly. _He has power that I can't match!_

"I'll fight for the light as long as I have to," she declared, getting to her feet again. "Even if it means forever, and even if I'm fighting alone!"

"If you're fighting alone, then this will be a quick victory," Xemnas replied, raising his saber to strike again. Kairi prepared herself to move, but something within her stopped, and she froze in place.

"You're not alone, Kairi," a familiar voice said. "Not anymore."

Before Kairi could even think to reply, a bright figure appeared before her, blocking the attack with a blinding light.

"Namine," Kairi breathed, her heart pounding.

"You're right that Xemnas has powers that you don't," Namine told her other, looking at her from over her shoulder. "But _I_ do."

To Kairi's surprise, Namine stepped back to Kairi's side, and in her hands formed a keyblade similar to Kairi's.

"We'll fight this together," Namine said, smiling at Kairi. Kairi couldn't help but grin.

"You're always there for me, Namine. Thank you."

Together, the girls rushed in toward Xemnas, making quick work of him and gaining the obvious advantage. Once Namine had knocked the saber from his hands, Kairi took the chance, and with all of her strength she pushed her keyblade into him. Letting out a startled cry, Xemnas roared up into the air, and in a blinding flash of darkness, disappeared for good.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the room, Riku and Xehanort's Heartless battled on, evenly matched. Riku was not tired, but he was growing irritated more and more as the minutes passed without consequence.

_This is going nowhere_, he thought, gritting his teeth as he took a swing at the Shadow Guardian. _I thought I had gotten stronger since then_…

"Give in to the darkness again, Riku," Xehanort's Heartless said. Riku rolled his eyes, tired of hearing the same line again and again.

"You already know my answer," Riku growled, thrusting his keyblade forward. It did no good, for the Shadow Guardian beat him there.

_Am I really no better than him_? Riku began to wonder.

_Riku, do you remember what you once told me_?

The familiar voice echoed in Riku's head, but he couldn't place it right away.

_You probably don't remember at all, really. But you once said that I had to choose the answer that was best for everyone. _

"Xion," Riku murmured, only half-conscious of his action.

_That's right._ Riku heard her laugh; it was good-hearted and kind. _You remember now? But Riku, that's not always the best decision. Sometimes, you have to choose the answer that is best for _you. _Do you understand what I am trying to tell you?_

_But, my darkness is…_ A frown crossed Riku's lips as he blocked another attack.

_Riku, believe in yourself. Did you know? _You_ were chosen as the keyblade master-one with a balance of light and darkness. Believe in that, and everything else will fall into place. Otherwise, you will struggle for the rest of your life_.

Closing his eyes for a brief moment, Riku inhaled deeply.

"…You're right," Riku said quietly. He heard Xehanort's Heartless let out a cruel laugh, but the teen did not flinch. "I cannot escape my destiny!"

Holding his arms out to the side, Riku let out a yell, "This is my power! My darkness is my own!"

_That's the way, Riku_.

When Riku opened his eyes again, the Shadow Guardian floated right before him. He raised his blade to strike, when suddenly a figure appeared before him, holding out its arms.

"I'll be your guardian now," Xion said with a smile.

Before Riku could respond, the Shadow Guardian slashed at Xion. Upon impact, the two burst into fragments, not unlike fireworks. Though Xion was gone, so was the Shadow Guardian, leaving Xehanort's Heartless completely open to attacks.

"This is it!" Riku cried, and though the slightest bit of despair still remained in his heart, he tore his blade through the dark being and finally destroyed him for good.

Sora had felt a strange pull at his heart throughout his battle with Vanitas, but he pushed it aside, struggling on. Vanitas fought with great strength, and though Sora was still full of energy, it was obvious that Vanitas was more powerful.

"I won't give in to you," Sora told Vanitas, who just chuckled. "I know there is darkness within me, but _you_ aren't supposed to be part of it."

"But I am, Sora!" Vanitas laughed. He swung his blade hard, and, catching Sora off-guard, slammed the keyblader into the wall behind him. "And as you continue to reject me, you continue to delay the deaths of your friends."

"You…have never been part of me!" Sora shouted, groaning as he stood.

"I am, and you will accept me as such!"

"_No_!"

"You're still here?"

Out of nowhere, a bright light appeared before Sora. When it faded, a young man stood in its place. Even from behind, his appearance was familiar.

"Roxas?" Sora whispered.

"Roxas? Eh?" The young man turned, and with a laugh, he shook his head. "Not quite. Nice to finally meet you, Sora. You can call me Ven."


	28. XXVIII: Three Thirds

XXVIII. Three Thirds

Aqua could hardly believe it when she saw Ven emerge from Sora's body. She wanted to cry, and it took all of her self-control to focus on her fight with the possessed Terra. In truth, it wasn't much of a fight, more a challenge of self-defense. Still, her heart was leaping at the sight of seeing Ven again, and it kept her hopeful.

"Vanitas, let's end this," Ven said, summoning his keyblade, holding it backhanded the way he always had. "Once, long ago, Sora told me something I'll never forget. He said that I could remain in his heart until I was strong enough to win back my heart."

"You think you're strong enough to defeat me?" Vanitas taunted with a cocky smile, putting a hand on his hip. Ven gave him a matching grin.

"I don't think so. I _know_ so!"

Quicker than lightning, Ven ran in for a strike to Vanitas and did so successfully, knocking the dark being to his back.

"What is-?"

"These are the bonds of a heart," Ven told Vanitas, letting him get back up. "That's something you will never know, Vanitas. For that, I feel bad for you." Ven turned to Sora, smiling kindly. "C'mon, Sora. I'll let you help me out on this one if you want."

"Gladly," Sora replied, standing next to Ven.

Vanitas was arguably the most powerful dark being in existence, next to Master Xehanort himself. But between Sora and Ven's power, battling him became child's play. The two worked in harmony with one another, and soon Vanitas was flat on his back, not dead but weakened.

"This is the end, Vanitas," Ven said quietly.

"You can't kill me," Vanitas growled, eyes closed.

"You're right, I can't."

"You can't!" Sora exclaimed, jumping in surprise.

"I can't," Ven repeated, a gentle smile on his face. "Y'see, Sora, Vanitas is a part of me. I can't continue to cast him away. So instead, I'm gonna take back what's mine-what's been mine from the very beginning."

Holding out his keyblade, Ven nodded, then closed his eyes. To Sora's amazement, a light sprung from Vanitas' body and flew into Ven's keyblade. Ven's body, too, began to glow.

"…Yeah…you're right," Vanitas whispered as his body began to fade. "Maybe…it'll be… _better_ this way."

"You don't have to fight anymore," Ven said as Vanitas completely disappeared. "We're part of each other."

"Ven?" Sora gasped, staring at the keyblade wielder. Whatever Ven had done, Sora had felt weak from it as well. "What-"

"_Ven_!"

Ven's eyes shot open at the sound of Aqua's voice, and he whirled his body around, unintentionally ignoring Sora as he collapsed to his knees. All the young man could think of was one thing: getting Terra back.

Aqua had been struggling to remain passive toward the still-possessed Terra, though he seemed to not recognize the situation himself. Repeatedly he slammed his keyblade into Aqua's; the clanging echoed in the room, despite the energy generated from other areas.

"Terra!" Ven shouted, running over to his friends. Terra continued to attack, even with the blonde approaching. "Terra, it's me, Ven!"

"Ven, be careful!" Aqua warned him as Terra suddenly stopped mid-swing.

"It's me, Ven," Ven repeated, hoping to have touched a soft spot in the depths of Terra's heart. "And this is Aqua. Don't you remember?"

Letting out a vicious yell, Terra redirected his swings at Ven, who hastily blocked them. Though he wasn't as strong, he was much faster and could dodge most of the swings sent his way.

"Terra, don't you remember us?" Ven shouted. "We're friends, remember?"

"Friends?" Terra whispered, still attacking.

"…Maybe what you need is a good hit to wake you up!"

Before Aqua could stop him, Ven knocked the dull end of his blade into Terra's gut. The young man grunted, falling back into the wall behind him.

"Ven, please don't," Aqua begged, fearing the worst. But Ven stood before Terra, completely confident.

"C'mon, Terra, you gonna lose to a kid like me?" Ven teased him.

"Ven-"

"Aqua, you too. C'mon, let's spar! Just like the good old days!"

Aqua hesitated, but Ven's pleading eyes made her give in. Soon, her keyblade was readied once again.

"I'll whack you around as much as I have to, Terra, as long as you remember me!" Ven shouted, slamming down into Terra once again. Aqua joined him, and soon the two were battling against their stunned friend.

"Weren't you the one who told us we'd never be torn apart?" Aqua asked, tears in her eyes as she stood up to the panting Terra.

"Yeah, and that you'd take care of me," Ven chimed in.

"That…" Terra spoke, and the two held their breath. "That…I'd…always…find a way…"

"Yes, Terra!" Aqua cried.

"…Aqua… An unbreakable connection."

"Exactly!" Ven exclaimed, laughing with joy.

"…Ven. Yeah…my friends."

Suddenly, Terra gasped loudly and clutched his heart, dropping to his knees. Aqua and Ven stood in silence in front of him, their keyblades out before them. As if the darkness was being thrown from him, Terra's body flew back into the wall, and a dark, glowing darkness was drawn to Ven and Aqua's keyblades. As they blasted the darkness into Master Xehanort, the nearest and most convenient target, Terra's body ceased to glow, and his hair darkened back to brown from grey.

"Terra!" Ven shouted. Slowly, the young man looked up at his friends.

"Ven…Aqua…" He opened his eyes, revealing the usual blue. "…Thank you."


	29. XXIX: Two hundred fiftyeight

XXIX. Two hundred fifty-eight

"Impossible!" Master Xehanort shouted as Terra got to his feet. The young man held his head high, Ven and Aqua standing on either side of him.

"Possible," he said calmly, his keyblade in his hands. "I told you that it wouldn't last."

"And now you have to deal with all three of us!" Ven added.

"Together, and never separated again!" Aqua cried.

Though King Mickey, who had been fighting Master Xehanort the whole time, was not tired out just yet, he couldn't help but stand back and watch the trio unleash attack after attack. It was true that each of the three wielders was powerful, but together, they were virtually invincible. Finally, with their hearts all in the right place, they could finish what they had started ten years ago.

"This isn't the end of anything," Master Xehanort growled as Ven got a good hit in, knocking the old man back.

"You're right-it's the _beginning_ of an era without you!" Ven replied, smirking.

"You fools. Still you understand nothing!" Master Xehanort let out a laugh. "Even if I am defeated, the darkness will remain strong!" The trio exchanged looks as he continued. "I am but a carrier! The source has yet to be defeated!"

"That isn't going to stop us from putting an end to _you_!" Aqua shouted, and with a loud cry, she swung her keyblade into Master Xehanort.

"Aqua is right! It's over, Xehanort!" Terra added, joining Aqua.

"Your time is _up_!" With a grin, Ven landed the final blow.

Finally, as they had once promised each other long ago, Master Xehanort was defeated. His lifeless body lay on the floor, eyes still open. The trio watched him carefully, afraid that he might come back. But it was true-he had been defeated. Still, a final battle was ahead of them, but where?

The answer was actually in that very same room with them.

In the only part of the room still teeming with action, Tenko continued her fight with Hiko. They seemed to be evenly matched; neither one seemed physically exhausted, despite it being Ten's first time using a keyblade. However, even from afar, Ten's level of distress and rage was obvious. Had they been able to see her eyes, they would have seen unshed tears of frustration.

"Why won't you just DIE?" she screamed, ramming her keyblade into Hiko's.

"I'd hate to see you suffer any longer," he replied, grinning. His eyes seemed to be glowing with unspeakable power. "Don't you want to join your daughter?"

Screaming, Ten rushed at Hiko once again. It was a desperate struggle; even just watching it was painful for the others. Even though she was going at Hiko with every ounce of strength in her body, Ten wasn't getting anywhere. She seemed to realize it as well, because every outcry of hers became more and more rattled and frustrated.

"I don't really know what's going on," Kairi admitted to Sora, who was still weak from earlier events. "Who is this guy?"

"His name is Hiko, and he was one of the original keyblade masters," Sora explained. "He killed Ten's daughter, who was another one of the original wielders."

"So you mean, this is Ten's first time with…?"

"Yeah. It's weird. Why would she suddenly get a keyblade, after all of these years?"

"Think about it, Sora," Riku said, jumping in on the conversation. "Sometimes keyblades are born with specific purposes." Sora, thinking back to when he used the special keyblade to free Kairi's heart, nodded in agreement. "Maybe this keyblade is the same way."

"But if it's like that one time-"

"_WHY_?" Ten shrieked, throwing her keyblade to the ground and gripping her head. She pulled at her braids, openly crying.

"You can't defeat me," Hiko said simply, shrugging a bit. "I don't think you ever could, even if you trained with that thing for years. I will always be the most powerful of them all."

"I…I refuse to accept this!" Ten shouted, looking up at Hiko. "I may not be able to beat you, but you are by far the WEAKEST of them all!"

Hiko openly laughed, seeming almost genuinely amused by Ten's claim.

"What makes you say that?" he said, practically grinning in amusement.

Ten hesitated, then picked the keyblade up once again.

"I…have met many keyblade wielders in my life," she murmured. "They come in all shapes and sizes, all different personalities and reasons for being wielder. But the ones who have always come out on top in the end-they had one thing in common. _They had my help_."

As if she, too, had realized the true purpose of her keyblade, Ten raised the blade above her chest, then struck it directly into her heart. Even Hiko gasped, surprised by her action. Ten's body glowed with a beautiful white light, one that traveled into and was absorbed by her keyblade. It glowed brighter and brighter, until suddenly it burst into hundreds of pieces.

As her body collapsed onto the floor, the lights that had sprung from her keyblade began to take forms-human forms. Each fragment became a person, and each of those people held a keyblade in his or her hand. Aurae was among them, and it didn't take long for Sora to realize what had happened.

"These are…past keyblade wielders," he murmured in awe.

"They must've been born of the bonds she kept in her heart," Aqua breathed, equally amazed. She couldn't help but smile when she noticed a younger Eraqus among the crowd.

"How…" Hiko gasped, backing away.

"You have greatly disrupted the balance of darkness and light," said one wielder, a short young woman with long blonde hair.

"We are here to correct it," another said, a young man with jet-black hair.

"It has been two hundred and fifty-eight years," said a third, an older man who was nodding slowly.

"You are the reason for darkness overtaking our worlds," Aurae declared, stepping forward. Though young, her presence was steady and strong. "And we are here to eliminate you."

Before Hiko could respond, the keyblade wielders-all of them-held out their keyblades. A mass of light began to gather at the tips, and soon it was nearly blinding to the others.

"Though shadow and light coexist, one cannot overrule the other!" Aurae exclaimed. "For violating this, you shall pay the ultimate price!"

The light grew so bright that no one could keep a single eye open. When the light finally died down, Sora opened his eyes to see Hiko explode into a puff of dark black smoke and disappear. The other wielders also were gone, and Ten's body was left alone on the cold floor. The battle had ended at last.


	30. XXX: Three

XXX. Three

MEMO: Note that there is a memo at the end of this chapter as well! It has spoilers for KH:3D, just to warn you. Anyway, I thought I'd let you know that this is the end of [THREE]! I'm going to take a couple weeks off to work on my next upload, and then will return with the third part of [My Color, Our Style]. After that, I'll be taking a month off to focus on my transition back to school (but in Japan this time!), and I'll return with something brand-new! See you then!

_I wonder if she knew she was going to die from the very beginning of our journey_, Sora wondered as he kneeled next to Ten's still body. She was still breathing, but it was a struggle for her to open her eyes.

"Ten," Sora murmured, an inexplicable wave of sadness flowing through him. He had hated her at first, so why this sudden feeling of remorse?

"Sora," she said, trying to sound unharmed. King Mickey appeared beside Sora, and Ten let out a pathetic laugh. "Your Majesty. I'm sorry."

"Why are you apologizing?" the King said with a chuckle. "We owe you our lives."

"Did I…really help you…?" Ten's eyes were glassy, and it was in that moment that Sora finally understood. Ten had existed for one purpose: to aid keyblade masters. It was the only explanation for her behavior and extended youth. But now it had come to an end, and a dramatic one at that.

"You did. Right, Sora?" The King looked up at Sora, and the teen couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah," he replied, thinking back on their journey. "You helped us a lot."

Ten smiled, for the first time seeming truly happy.

"I'm…glad."

With that last breath, Ten's body became completely still, and her eyes stared up at the ceiling, finally lifeless.

"She can be at peace now," King Mickey told Sora, who nodded. "Her soul has been forced to be still for so long, but now she's achieved her purpose. She can move on."

"Yeah. Not only did she avenge her daughter, but she helped us out, too."

"It wasn't just to avenge her daughter," Mickey stated. "It was to keep the proof of how much she _loved_ Aurae."

Silently, admiring her beautiful face one last time, Sora stood upright, giving Ten a sad smile.

"She did that, too, I think." Sora turned back to his friends, who all were waiting for the results of their epic battle.

"Is she…?" Kairi asked. Sora nodded, and the entire group frowned.

"She did a lot for us, you guys," Sora insisted. "You shouldn't be sad. Instead, we should be grateful, right?"

"It's still hard to think about," Riku admitted.

"But, because of her, light and darkness are finally in balance again," Aqua pointed out. "We're safe again."

"You're right," Terra agreed, he and Ven nodding. "I think this is our cue to start rebuilding what's been destroyed because of that imbalance."

"Where do we even begin?" Ansem the Wise asked, shaking his head slowly. "So many worlds have been affected by the darkness."

"Let's go home," Ven said suddenly, turning to Terra and Aqua. "We can start by rebuilding the Land of Departure, like the way it used to be. There'll still be keyblade wielders in the future, right? Won't you need someplace to train them, _Master_ Aqua?"

Blushing with pride, Aqua grinned and nodded.

"Then it's settled!" Terra exclaimed. "What about the rest of you?"

Sora opened his mouth to speak, but King Mickey cut him off.

"I think it's about time those three returned to their normal lives," he said, grinning. "Whaddya think of that?"

"Sounds amazing," Kairi said quickly, laughing.

"That means school, though," Sora groaned, and Riku smirked.

"C'mon, you could use the discipline of sitting still for a few hours," he told the brunette.

"Aww, man." Sora chuckled, crossing his arms. "Well, I guess he has a point. All right, let's go home."

The group seemed to burst into a cheerful chatter the second Sora gave that declaration. Together, they walked toward the door, discussing their future plans and how to even find their way outside. Before they left, Sora gave one last glance back at Ten's body. He did so just in time to see it burst into little lights.

"…Thanks again," he mouthed, smiling as the lights faded into the air.

Sora turned forward once more, and soon he too was lost in the excitement with his friends, all but forgetting Ten for the time being.

Three months later, Sora, Riku, and Kairi were once again enrolled in school. Though Sora was less than thrilled, he was admittedly grateful for a more normal life.

The familiar sound of screeching chairs filled the air as the homeroom teacher walked in, followed by a young girl about Sora's age.

"Quiet down, class," the teacher said, smacking her hand on the desk. Kairi jumped; Riku and Sora exchanged grins. "Today we have a new student with us. Please listen as she introduces herself."

The girl, her long white hair flowing over her shoulders, bowed at the waist before speaking.

"I'm new here; my name is Tenko," she said. "But you can call me Ten, if you want. I'll do my best to get along with everyone here. Thank you."

Eyes wide, Kairi and Riku both looked at Sora, who shrugged. Tenko quietly sat down in the open seat next to Riku.

"Uh…hi?" he said.

"Hello," she replied. "You seem nervous?"

"And you seem familiar. Do you mind me asking where you're from?"

"Oh, that? Do you mean my hair?" Tenko laughed. "I'm from Radiant Garden. My parents thought this would be a better environment for me. I was very sick for a long time, but now I'm better, and being here on these islands is helping me stay that way."

Riku turned to the others, who shrugged.

"Nice to meet you," Riku said at last. "Sorry if I creeped you out."

"No issue," Tenko said, waving her hand. "Maybe we met in a past life!" She laughed heartily, and Sora couldn't help but join her.

_Yeah, I'd say so_, he thought, unable to hide a grin. _Good to have you back, Ten_.

END MEMO:

[WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS TO KINGDOM HEARTS: DREAM DROP DISTANCE]

Well, that's that! It's over!

As I was writing this, a lot of spoilers for KH3D were released, and I found that a few of my theories were correct! But as far as me saying that there would be a new character to aid Sora and Co. in their battle, that was different. I wasn't expecting to see Lea back in action. But I do stand by the fact that he will probably die in this. Something about his return is just not quite right.

I had a few people comment on the pace of the story; I wrote it with a rush in mind. This story, as I stated from the beginning, is just an extension of my theories for the future of the KH series. I thought it'd be more fun to write a story instead of just TALK about it. Nobody wants to read that, right? I wouldn't want to. (Lies. I would, I totally would. But I know I'm in the minority on that one, hence this quickly-told tale. xD) Besides, I wanted to keep working on the projects I've had planned for ages…^^;; hehe.

Anyway, I look forward to seeing you all in Part 3 of [My Color, Our Style]. It's going to be the best part of all of them, so look forward to it, mmkay? Thank you for your avid reading!


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